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

The Ukrainian leader said Russia fired 36 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight, of which only four were shot down due to a lack of Patriot interceptors. — Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2026

In 2014, Newsweek reported that Saudi Arabia had acquired more modern DF-21 intermediate-range ballistic missiles from China as part of a 2007 agreement greenlit by the CIA. — Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Nov. 2026

Meanwhile, major Ukrainian steel plants in Kryvyi Rih and Zaporizhzhia were hit in ballistic missile strikes between August and October, forcing them to shut down. — Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2026

The Ukrainian leader said that Russia fired 36 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight, of which only four were shot down due to a lack of Patriot interceptors. — Derek Gatopoulos, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ballistic missile

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

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