v.
   - make a hole in or through with a sharp pointed object.
- force or cut a way through:![]()  a shrill voice pierced the air. 
- 
[as adj. piercing]
 very sharp, cold, or high-pitched. ▸very astute or intelligent. 
Derivative
  
    - piercer n.
- piercingly adv.
 
  Etymology
  ME: from OFr. percer, based on L. pertus-, pertundere ‘bore through’.