impalement Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the act of piercing with a sharpened stake as a form of punishment or torture

WordNet

Im*pale"ment noun
Definitions
  1. The act of impaling, or the state of being impaled. Byron.
  2. An inclosing by stakes or pales, or the space so inclosed. H. Brooke.
  3. That which hedges in; inclosure. R. Milton.
  4. (Her.) The division of a shield palewise, or by a vertical line, esp. for the purpose of putting side by side the arms of husband and wife. See Impale, 3.

Webster 1913