piercev. t.[OE. percen, F. percer, OF. percier, perchier, parchier; perh. fr. (assumed) LL. pertusiare for pertusare, fr. L. pertundere, pertusum, to beat, push, bore through; per through + tundere to beat: cf. OF. pertuisier to pierce, F. pertuis a hole. Cf. Contuse, Parch, Pertuse.]1. To thrust into, penetrate, or transfix, with a pointed instrument.(Dryden.)2. To penetrate; to enter; to force a way into or through; to pass into or through; as, to pierce the enemy's line; a shot pierced the ship.()3. Fig.: To penetrate; to affect deeply; as, to pierce a mystery.(Pope.)Can no prayers pierce thee? (Shak.)v. i. To enter; to penetrate; to make a way into or through something, as a pointed instrument does; -- used literally and figuratively.()And pierced to the skin, but bit no more. (Spenser.)She would not pierce further into his meaning. (Sir P. Sidney.)