Lance (lăns), n. [OE. lance, F. lance, fr. L. lancea; cf. Gr. λόγχη. Cf. Launch.] 1. A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle and a steel blade or head; a spear carried by horsemen, and often decorated with a small flag; also, a spear or harpoon used by whalers and fishermen.
A braver soldier never couched lance. Shak.
2. A soldier armed with a lance; a lancer.
3. (Founding) A small iron rod which suspends the core of the mold in casting a shell.
4. (Mil.) An instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home.
5. (Pyrotech.) One of the small paper cases filled with combustible composition, which mark the outlines of a figure.
Free lance, in the Middle Ages, and subsequently, a knight or roving soldier, who was free to engage for any state or commander that purchased his services; hence, a person who assails institutions or opinions on his own responsibility without regard to party lines or deference to authority. — Lance bucket(Cavalry), a socket attached to a saddle or stirrup strap, in which to rest the but of a lance. — Lance corporal, same as Lancepesade. — Lance knight, a lansquenet. B. Jonson. — Lance snake(Zoöl.), the fer-de-lance. — Stink-fire lance(Mil.), a kind of fuse filled with a composition which burns with a suffocating odor; — used in the counter operations of miners. — To break a lance, to engage in a tilt or contest.