catapult

noun

cat·a·pult | \ ˈka-tə-ˌpəlt ,

-ˌpu̇lt \

Definition of catapult

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an ancient military device for hurling missiles

2 : a device for launching an airplane at flying speed (as from an aircraft carrier)

catapult

verb

catapulted; catapulting; catapults

Definition of catapult (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to throw or launch by or as if by a catapult

intransitive verb

: to become catapulted he catapulted to fame

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about catapult

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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: Noun

The robot is designed like a catapult to throw the ball to home plate. — Alec Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "A robot built by Arrowhead students is throwing out the first pitch at the June 15 Brewers game," 15 June 2018 The two of them once passed two very happy weekends of courtship in attempts to reconstruct an ancient catapult called an onager. — Gideon Lewis-kraus, WIRED, "The Blockchain: A Love Story—And a Horror Story," 18 June 2018 This 8,000 square foot inflatable water obstacle course and playground includes a catapult, climbing wall, trampoline, jungle gym, balance beam, bouncing dome, cyclone wheel and freefall wall with a slide. — Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun-Sentinel.com, "9 hot South Florida events in July," 25 June 2018 Early testing of the carrier's plane-launching electromagnetic catapult failed in 2015, which was just one of several setbacks for a program that has been criticized by some lawmakers for a series of schedule delays and cost overruns. — Zachary Cohen, CNN, "US Navy's most expensive warship just got even pricier," 15 May 2018 SpinLaunch, a startup building space catapults, just raised $35 million in funding from investors, including GV, Airbus, and Kleiner Perkins. — Polina Marinova, Fortune, "This Futuristic Startup Raised $40 Million to Fling Heavy Objects Into Space," 15 June 2018 In February 2017, authorities found a pot-hurling catapult south of the border fence, reported The Arizona Daily Star. — Don Sweeney, sacbee, "Mom’s minivan held five kids – and 231 pounds of drugs, border agents say | The Sacramento Bee," 11 Apr. 2018 Israeli news outlets reported that Palestinians had built an ancient war machine — a trebuchet, or slingshot-like catapult — to hurl heavy stones or even burning tires at the Israeli side. — David M. Halbfinger, Iyad Abuheweila And Isabel Kershner, New York Times, "10 Killed in Gaza as Palestinian Protesters Face Off With Israeli Soldiers," 6 Apr. 2018 The scale of the catapult project was simply enormous. — William Gurstelle, Popular Mechanics, "The Legend of Ludgar the War Wolf, King of the Trebuchets," 1 May 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Farrell was catapulted to the city’s top job during a period of political turbulence, when the board voted to install him as mayor in January. — Dominic Fracassa, SFChronicle.com, "Now-former SF Mayor Farrell looks back on short term, future of city," 12 July 2018 Somewhere around 2006–2007, after the release of their album Black Holes and Revelations, things kicked up a notch and they were catapulted into A-list-band territory. — Tom Philip, GQ, "It’s Time to Admit You Love Muse," 5 July 2018 Since Kim Kardashian West first catapulted to fame from her formative reality-TV beginnings, her beauty has captured the public fascination—and inspired a million doppelgängers along the way. — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, "4 Times Kim Kardashian West Disrupted the Beauty Space," 4 June 2018 Many parts of the upper Midwest and Great Lakes have essentially skipped spring this year, catapulting from winter to summer. — Jason Samenow, Washington Post, "Leaping from winter to summer in just weeks, the Midwest is sweltering," 29 May 2018 After catapulting from a job fresh out of law school as the governor’s travel aide, Maul spent a year and a half as the emergency division’s chief of staff before being appointed interim director, then permanent director, after Hurricane Irma. — Elizabeth Koh, miamiherald, "How does an inexperienced 30-year-old become hurricane chief? Win Rick Scott's trust. | Miami Herald," 25 May 2018 The 6-foot-5 guard, who unexpectedly catapulted himself into the NBA draft mix after a 31-point performance in Villanova’s national title win over Michigan, did way more to boost his NBA future than hurt it in a scene jam-packed with NBA evaluators. — Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY, "Stay or go? Title game hero Donte DiVincenzo’s stock soars even more after NBA draft combine," 21 May 2018 Tesco PLC agreed last year to acquire Booker Group PLC, the country’s largest food wholesaler, for £3.7 billion, catapulting it from the U.K.’s biggest supermarket chain to its largest food business. — Saabira Chaudhuri, WSJ, "Walmart Weighs a U.K. Pullback as Rivals Gain Sway," 28 Apr. 2018 The appointment of Bill Shankly in 1959 set off a chain reaction which established the deep rooted rivalry between the two northern powerhouses, and catapulted Liverpool to the fore of English football - winning 42 trophies from 1963 to 1992. — SI.com, "FanView: Liverpool’s Prospering Identity Should Serve as Warning for Man Utd Ahead of Showdown," 8 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'catapult.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.