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cat·a·pult | \ ˈka-tə-ˌpəlt 
, -ˌpu̇lt \
, -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
verbcatapulted; catapulting; catapults
Definition of catapult (Entry 2 of 2)
: to throw or launch by or as if by a catapult
: to become catapulted he catapulted to fame
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Synonyms for catapult
Synonyms: Verb
- cast,
- chuck,
- dash,
- fire,
- fling,
- heave,
- hurl,
- hurtle,
- launch,
- lob,
- loft,
- peg,
- pelt,
- pitch,
- sling,
- throw,
- toss
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.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Instead of a runway, Zipline launches its drones from a catapult at one of its four distribution centers, which span the country from the border with Burkina Faso in the north to the Atlantic Ocean some 400 miles to the south.
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Alex Davies, Wired, "Drones Take Flight to Carry Covid-19 Tests to Labs in Africa," 22 Apr. 2020 Instead, the crisis cements the tyranny of incumbents and catapults newcomers into overnight dominance.
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Elizabeth M. Renieris, Wired, "Forget the Techlash. The Lawlash Is Long Overdue," 30 Apr. 2020 The Type 003 will displace between 90,000-100,000 tons and have electromagnetically assisted launch system (EMALS) catapults for getting aircrafts off the deck.
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Popular Science, "A Chinese shipbuilder accidentally revealed its major navy plans," 15 Mar. 2018 In the meantime, the PLAN is reportedly developing an E-2D-type aircraft to take advantage of the catapults and give the future carrier an early warning and command and control capability.
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Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Meet Shandong, China's Second Aircraft Carrier," 19 Dec. 2019 Aircraft launched by catapults can get airborne quicker and with greater quantities of fuel and ammunition, giving them an advantage over Chinese planes, which rely on their own power when lifting off from ski-jumps.
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Ben Westcott, CNN, "China's first domestically-built aircraft carrier officially enters service," 17 Dec. 2019 Sports Pulse: The Chiefs' first championship in 50 years cements Andy Reid's legacy and catapults Patrick Mahomes to new heights.
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Nate Davis, USA TODAY, "Kansas City Chiefs' Chris Jones after winning Super Bowl: 'I'm fixing to get drunk'," 3 Feb. 2020 Sports Pulse: The Chiefs' first championship in 50 years cements Andy Reid's legacy and catapults Patrick Mahomes to new heights.
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Tyler Dragon, Cincinnati.com, "What we learned from Super Bowl LIV: Kansas City Chiefs win 31-20 over San Francisco 49ers," 3 Feb. 2020 This catapult provides extra energy from a source such as compressed air or electromagnets to help the plane gain extra speed.
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Ben Finio, Scientific American, "Build a Paper Airplane Launcher," 6 Feb. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Future presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton gave convention speeches that helped catapult them to the White House.
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Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, "GOP, Democratic leaders rush to overhaul convention plans in era of COVID-19," 14 June 2020 Many northerners were outraged and historians say the decision helped catapult the U.S. into the Civil War only four years later.
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USA Today, "George Floyd's Minneapolis: Multicultural facade hid decades of simmering racial inequality," 11 June 2020 A year later, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor would catapult the United States into World War II.
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Susan Page, USA TODAY, "Nancy Pelosi's birth 80 years ago made headlines, too, as perils gathered for the nation," 26 Mar. 2020 The world tour would catapult Raka Rasmi into a lifelong career in dance.
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Seth Mydans, New York Times, "Overlooked No More: Ni Gusti Ayu Raka Rasmi, Balinese Dancer," 13 Mar. 2020 Ultimately, though, moving Russell to a larger role with the second unit could catapult Golden State to the Finals discussion given good health.
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Michael Shapiro, SI.com, "Can D’Angelo Russell Keep the Warriors in Finals Contention?," 2 Oct. 2019 That could catapult him to becoming the world's richest man.
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Chris Isidore, CNN, "Elon Musk is fighting multiple really ugly court fights at once," 27 Sep. 2019 Peloton’s next vehicle will catapult trucks to Level 4 capabilities, driving entirely on their own.
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Michael J. Coren, Quartz, "Self-driving platoons of trucks are coming to a highway near you," 19 July 2019 These aren’t the six best or most talented players, but those who are stepping into important roles for Louisville — players who can catapult Louisville to another level with a strong season.
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Cameron Teague Robinson, The Courier-Journal, "These 6 players will play a big role in Louisville football's 2020 success," 14 May 2020
See MoreThese 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.
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More Definitions for catapult
catapult
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of catapult
(Entry 1 of 2)
: an ancient weapon used for throwing large rocks
: a device for launching an airplane from the deck of an aircraft carrier
catapult
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of catapult (Entry 2 of 2)
: to throw (something) with a catapult
: to cause (someone or something) to quickly move up or ahead or to a better position
: to quickly move up or ahead : to quickly advance to a better position
See the full definition for catapult in the English Language Learners Dictionary
catapult
nouncat·a·pult | \ ˈka-tə-ˌpəlt \
\Kids Definition of catapult
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : an ancient military machine for hurling stones and arrows
2 : a device for launching an airplane from the deck of a ship
catapult
verbcatapulted; catapulting
Kids Definition of catapult (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to throw by or as if by a catapult
She catapulted herself out of the door.— Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy
2 : to quickly advance
The movie role catapulted her to fame.
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Time Traveler for catapult
The first known use of catapult was in 1577
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