ballistic missile

noun

plural ballistic missiles

: a usually rocket-powered missile that is launched in a high arc under guidance for its ascent but that is unpowered and unguided once it begins its descent compare cruise missile, guided missile

Examples of ballistic missile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There seems to be some momentum to lift restrictions, especially after Blinken and Lammy revealed that Iran was supplying Russia with ballistic missiles, NPR’s Joanna Kakissis says. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 11 Sep. 2024

Ukraine's air force reported one Iskander-M ballistic missile, one Kh-31P anti-radar missile and 48 Shahed attack drones fired into the country overnight. —David Brennan, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2024

For two years, Tehran and Moscow negotiated a transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia to boost Russia’s ongoing bombardment of Ukraine. —David Axe, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2024

Due to numerous developments—including ballistic missiles, economic interdependence, the connectedness of cyberspace, and climate change—strategic detachment and going it alone are no longer viable options. —Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 9 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

ballistic missile

noun

: a missile that moves under its own power, is guided as it rises in a steeply curving path, and falls freely on the way back to earth