spearhead
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Someone who leads or initiates an activity.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
spirhedSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈspɪɹhɛd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Someone who leads or initiates an activity (attack or campaign etc.)
The leading military unit in an attack
The head and sharpened point of a spear
The pointed head, or end, of a spear.
verb
transitiveidiomatic
To drive or campaign ardently for (an effort, project, etc.); to direct.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Someone who leads or initiates an activity (attack or campaign etc.)
Used this way, spearhead is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use spearhead
- “She spearheaded the effort to find a cure for the disease.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.