ballistic

adjective

bal·​lis·​tic bə-ˈli-stik 

1

: extremely and usually suddenly excited, upset, or angry : wild

He went ballistic when he saw the dent in his car.

and the crowd goes ballistic

2

: of or relating to the science of the motion of projectiles in flight

3

exercise : being or characterized by repeated bouncing

ballistic stretching

4

physics, of an object in motion : behaving like a projectile

But the Bell Labs switch uses such a low current that the few ballistic electrons are a distance of a micrometer or more apart …

—Robert Pool

5

of a material : capable of resisting or stopping bullets or other projectiles

ballistic glass

ballistic nylon

… engineered specifically to be worn under ballistic vests and shirts.

—K. M. Reese

ballistically

bə-ˈli-sti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms of ballistic

• angry
• mad
• indignant
• furious
• enraged
• outraged
• infuriated
• angered
• rabid
• infuriate

Examples of ballistic in a Sentence

she went ballistic when she discovered her brother reading her e-mail

Recent Examples on the Web

The sixth pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of smuggling ballistic vests to the Colombian commandos hired by Intriago’s company, Counter Terrorist Unit Security, to execute the hit job, according to court records. —Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 10 Mar. 2026

Iran has built an arsenal of ballistic weapons and drones for use in war with America and our allies. —Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 8 Mar. 2026

The United Arab Emirates’ defense ministry also said that the country was targeted by a barrage of Iranian ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones. —Rebecca Schneid, Time, 8 Mar. 2026

Four young men were accused of the killings, but more than 30 years later, DNA and ballistic evidence laid the blame squarely on the late Robert Eugene Brashers. —Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 7 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin ballisticus "relating to the motion of projectiles in flight," from Latin ballista ballista + New Latin -icus -ic entry 1

Note: The Latin word was apparently introduced by the French priest and polymath Marin Mersenne (1588-1648) in Ballistica et acontismologia, a section (with separate title page) of his Cogitata physico-mathematica (Paris, 1644).

First Known Use

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing ballistic

• ballistic missile
• go ballistic

Rhymes for ballistic

• artistic
• autistic
• cladistic
• heuristic
• holistic
• linguistic
• logistic
• monistic
• patristic
• sadistic
• simplistic
• sophistic

Kids Definition

ballistic

adjective

bal·​lis·​tic bə-ˈlis-tik 

: of or relating to ballistics