cruise missile

noun

: a guided missile that has a terrain-following radar system and that flies at moderate speed and low altitude

Examples of cruise missile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There was no immediate comment from Iran, but the UAE Ministry of Defense said earlier that Iran had launched at least four cruise missiles at the country, three of which were intercepted over the country's territorial waters, while the fourth fell in the sea. —May 4, CBS News, 4 May 2026

That translates to better detection of low-flying aircraft and cruise missiles and faster reaction times. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 3 May 2026

European manufacturers produce varying missile interceptors - but not at scale and especially not those capable of countering ballistic and advanced cruise missiles. —Tim Lister, CNN Money, 3 May 2026

The next night, Russia fired nineteen ballistic missiles, twenty-five cruise missiles, and six hundred and fifty-nine drones. —Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cruise missile

• abyssal
• dismissal
• epistle
• bristle
• fissile
• gristle
• missal
• nissl
• thistle
• whistle