Meaning & use
piercer
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A tool or sharp object used to make a hole through something.
Grammar: Countable; use a/an or the before it: pass me the piercer.
Patterns
- a piercer for something
- use a piercer on something
The leatherworker picked up a piercer to make holes in the belt.
Use a piercer to punch a clean hole through the cardboard.
She kept a small piercer in her sewing kit.
nouncountable
A person whose job is to make a hole in part of the body for jewelry.
Grammar: Countable; often used with a possessive: the piercer's gloves.
Patterns
- a body piercer
- go to a piercer
The piercer cleaned the equipment before starting.
Ask the piercer to explain the aftercare.
She trained as a piercer and opened her own studio.
Word forms
| plural | piercers |
|---|
Common combinations
- body piercer
- The body piercer sterilized the needle.
- leather piercer
- A leather piercer is useful for making belts.
- ear piercer
- The ear piercer used a stud gun.
- hole piercer
- This hole piercer works on soft materials.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: piercer or pier? piercer or purser?
piercer vs pier
A pier is a structure built out over water, not a tool or person.
piercer vs purser
A purser is an officer on a ship who handles money and accounts.
Practice
The ______ used a sterile needle to make the hole.
Choose one answer.
A piercer is the person who makes the hole, so it fits the context of a body piercing. A pier is a structure over water, a purser handles ship accounts, and piercing is the act or the jewelry, not the person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “piercer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.