Illustration of catapult
- catapult 1
cat·a·pult
ˈka-tə-ˌpəlt 
-ˌpu̇lt
1
: an ancient military device for hurling missiles
2
: a device for launching an airplane at flying speed (as from an aircraft carrier)
catapulted; catapulting; catapults
: to throw or launch by or as if by a catapult
: to become catapulted
he catapulted to fame
Examples of catapult in a Sentence
Verb
They catapulted rocks toward the castle.
The publicity catapulted her CD to the top of the charts.
The novel catapulted him from unknown to best-selling author.
He catapulted to fame after his first book was published.
Her career was catapulting ahead.
Recent Examples on the Web
Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 1 June 2026
To churn out thousands of those spacecraft each year, Musk called for a colossal catapult to be built on the lunar surface.
—Leonard David, Space.com, 28 May 2026
Tim Rohan, NBC news, 2 June 2026
Both vehicles crashed into sand barrels, and the Camero catapulted over the bridge railing and dropped about 25 feet to the ground below.
—Brandon Downs, CBS News, 31 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for catapult
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Noun
The move catapults Anthropic ahead of its rival OpenAI, which Wall Street analysts expect could announce its own IPO sometime this year.
—Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 1 June 2026
To churn out thousands of those spacecraft each year, Musk called for a colossal catapult to be built on the lunar surface.
—Leonard David, Space.com, 28 May 2026
Verb
Freese might catapult onto the global stage this summer, too.
—Tim Rohan, NBC news, 2 June 2026
Both vehicles crashed into sand barrels, and the Camero catapulted over the bridge railing and dropped about 25 feet to the ground below.
—Brandon Downs, CBS News, 31 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for catapult
Cite this Entry
“Catapult.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catapult. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
catapult
1 of 2 noun
cat·a·pult
ˈkat-ə-ˌpəlt
-ˌpu̇lt
1
: an ancient military device for hurling missiles
2
: a device for launching an airplane (as from the deck of an aircraft carrier)
catapult
2 of 2 verb1
: to throw or launch by or as if by a catapult
2
: to become catapulted
he catapulted to fame
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