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Definition of ballista
ballistae
play \-ˌtē\: an ancient military engine often in the form of a crossbow for hurling large missiles
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Recent Examples of ballista from the Web
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These miniature plastic or metal ballistas can fire a toothpick with enough force to pierce cardboard or — if loaded up with metal needles instead of wooden skewers — a soda can, the BBC reports.
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Nahshon Szanton and Moran Hagbi, the directors of the excavation, said the ballista balls were used by the Romans to bombard Jerusalem during the battle.
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The excavations revealed more than 400 Roman sling bullets right where the metal detectors indicated, as well as two spherical sandstone missiles known as ballista balls.
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That’s about twice the speed of the black arrow shot from the ballista.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ballista'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of ballista
Latin, from Greek *ballistēs, from ballein to throw — more at devil
Learn More about ballista
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See words that rhyme with ballista Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ballista
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