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
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Known as the Sea-Based X-band Radar, or SBX-1, the vessel is a massive, self-propelled former drilling platform that has been transformed into one of the most powerful ballistic missile tracking assets in the world.
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Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 29 Nov. 2025
In addition to land targets, the Chinese military can strike vessels, including aircraft carriers, around the first island chain using DF-21D medium-range anti-ship ballistic missiles.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
Ukrainian forces struck a manufacturing plant in Cheboksary, western Russia, that produces equipment and components for cruise and ballistic missiles, Ukraine's General Staff said Wednesday.
—Illia Novikov and Sam McNeil The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 27 Nov. 2025
The director, known for her razor-sharp depictions of political crises in films like Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker, had been mulling over the potential of making a film about intercontinental ballistic missiles.
—Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 24 Nov. 2025
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Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 29 Nov. 2025
In addition to land targets, the Chinese military can strike vessels, including aircraft carriers, around the first island chain using DF-21D medium-range anti-ship ballistic missiles.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
Ukrainian forces struck a manufacturing plant in Cheboksary, western Russia, that produces equipment and components for cruise and ballistic missiles, Ukraine's General Staff said Wednesday.
—Illia Novikov and Sam McNeil The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 27 Nov. 2025
The director, known for her razor-sharp depictions of political crises in films like Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker, had been mulling over the potential of making a film about intercontinental ballistic missiles.
—Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ballistic missile
Cite this Entry
“Ballistic missile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballistic%20missile. Accessed 2 Dec. 2025.
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