spearhead 1 of 2

verb

Definition of spearheadnext
as in to lead
to serve as leader of unofficially at least, Martin Luther King spearheaded the civil rights movement

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

spearhead

2 of 2

noun

as in forefront

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of spearhead
Verb
Simon Scoot, Chief Commercial Officer of Maybourne, is spearheading a transformative shift in luxury hospitality, moving beyond mere desire to focus on guest restoration and profound understanding. — Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026 In 1895, South Carolina held a constitutional convention, spearheaded by the aforementioned Hamburg massacre ringleader Tillman, and adopted a new constitution that effectively ended the Black vote in the state. — Jacob Ware, The Conversation, 31 July 2026
Noun
Between 2020 and 2022, a hoard of Bronze Age artifacts including axes, spearheads, rings and a sword scabbard were discovered by metal detectorists in Wales. — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026 The main spearhead of the scheme is Octopus Energy, which became the UK’s largest energy supplier in 2024, said The Independent. — Will Barker, TheWeek, 21 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for spearhead
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spearhead
  1. lead
  2. forefront
  3. command
  4. leading edge
Verb
  • Emerging studies on leading AI models that have been specially trained by scholars to act as virtual Commanders-in-Chief, armed with massive arsenals of atomic arms, have been alarming.
    — Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Her large flat-screen living room television was missing, leading detectives at the time to surmise the killer may have known that footage from the victim’s surveillance cameras could be watched on that TV.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of lead
Noun
  • So maybe at that time, dusting off a 25-year-old album with multiple labels involved wasn’t at the forefront of anyone at Disney’s minds.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 29 July 2026
  • Worobey, an evolutionary biologist who worked on the Science and Cell papers and was at the forefront of the pandemic-origins research, spoke to NPR in 2022 about the data.
    — Rachel Carlson, NPR, 29 July 2026
Definition of forefront
Verb
  • Human control and drone swarms The drone strike kits would also enable SkyFall’s Shrike drones to receive future software updates that could enable a single human operator to command an autonomous swarm of drones to attack targets.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Other players with expiring contracts who could command interest include slugger Starling Marte and reliever John Schreiber.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of command
Noun
  • With moisture moving in from the Atlantic coast, national weather service Meteo France forecast light rain in the town of Lege-Cap Ferret, on a peninsula that's been a leading edge of the devastated region.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2026
  • Kids appear to be the leading edge of this shift, not just incidental beneficiaries of it.
    — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 24 July 2026
Definition of leading edge

Browse Nearby Words

spearguns
spearhead
spearheaded
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Spearhead.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spearhead. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on spearhead

Nglish: Translation of spearhead for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of élan

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All