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

That’s catapulted them to their first World Cup quarterfinal in a dozen years. — Brian Straus, SI.com, "Quarterfinal Stage a Narrative Tipping Point for World Cup Contenders," 5 July 2018 The pressure of providing for a small child catapulted me into action. — Danielle Young, The Root, "Black Mamas Work: 6 Career-Driven Moms Share Their Messy Lessons, Wins and Fears of Raising Black Kids," 9 May 2018 Still, our efforts didn’t suddenly catapult us into video vixen territory. — refinery29.com, "Why Proms – Supersized, Superglam – Don’t Look Anything Like The Ones You Remember," 30 Apr. 2018 Ermey's performance in the 1987 Stanley Kubrick film catapulted him to stardom and nomination for a Golden Globe Award. — Glenn E. Rice, kansascity, "R. Lee Ermey, Kansas native and 'Full Metal Jacket' actor, dies at 74 | The Kansas City Star," 15 Apr. 2018 When Mo Bamba, the Magic’s rookie center, blocked a driving shot attempt during the first quarter, Gordon and Ross catapulted off their seats and cheered. — Josh Robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Aaron Gordon’s new Magic contract brought tears to his eyes," 10 July 2018 There's a chance their being the recipients of significant scorn from liberals could catapult them -- and the president -- into new levels of support from the conservative base. — Eugene Scott, Washington Post, "Why racially charged tweets by the wife of Bill Shine likely won’t matter much," 9 July 2018 The win, a landmark victory against Serena Williams, catapulted her to the pinnacle of the sport. — Vogue, "Tennis Star Garbiñe Muguruza on Living the Dream," 29 June 2018 Should Neymar and Brazil stumble in Moscow, Switzerland are hoping a win over Costa Rica in Nizhny Novgorod could catapult them into the last 16 as Group E winners. — Justin Davis, chicagotribune.com, "Germany, Brazil, Mexico play for their World Cup lives in group stage finale," 27 June 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.