Illustration of catapult
- catapult 1
cat·a·pult
ˈka-tə-ˌpəlt 
-ˌpu̇lt
1
: an ancient military device for hurling missiles
2
: a device for launching an airplane at flying speed (as from an aircraft carrier)
catapulted; catapulting; catapults
: to throw or launch by or as if by a catapult
: to become catapulted
he catapulted to fame
Synonyms
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
Sascha Brodsky, Popular Mechanics, 14 Mar. 2023
But in 2016 the online-to-IRL catapult was still unpredictable.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Or at least not until Home Depot starts offering catapults and other siege equipment next to its lumber aisle.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 24 Jan. 2024
Or at least not until Home Depot offers catapults and other siege equipment next to its lumber aisle.
—John Tufts, The Enquirer, 24 Jan. 2024
Winning the Mavin auction catapults UMG deeper into the Nigerian Afrobeats scene — the umbrella genre that encompasses Afropop, Afro fusion, high life and others that continues to explode around the globe.
—Dan Rys, Billboard, 26 Feb. 2024
Hollywood is shot down and Maverick struggles due to a catapult failure, but is able to shoot down three MiGs with Iceman destroying a fourth, forcing the other two to flee.
—Jacqueline Weiss, Peoplemag, 10 Feb. 2024
The action creates more of a catapult or whipping motion, taking pressure off the elbow.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2024
The day her class spent on campus commemorating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science by building catapults out of plastic spoons was supposed to encourage the students to break the trend.
—Sarah Blaskey, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2024
Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
By Brian Bennett April 17, 2024 7:08 AM EDT
The California governor’s mansion has a history of catapulting ambitious politicians onto the national stage.
—TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
Her organizational skills catapulted her to state chair of the network in 2010 and drew the admiration of Latinas across the state.
—Richard J. Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Apr. 2024
In recent years, TikTok has emerged as perhaps the most influential music discovery platform, catapulting indie artists to stardom and further elevating even the most famous musicians in the world.
—Mia Sato, The Verge, 11 Apr. 2024
The Coogan law is named after Jackie Coogan, a child actor who catapulted to fame after being discovered by Charlie Chaplin.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
Mike Budenholzer took over as the Bucks head coach in 2018 and immediately catapulted the Bucks to the top of the East (as well as helped Giannis Antetokounmpo turn into a perennial MVP candidate).
—Brian Sampson, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
After Stevenson’s second defeat, his Democratic party learned its lesson and catapulted into the age of the media campaign.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
Pandemic Pinnacles took advantage of the two-for-one accrual rate of Pinnacle points during the pandemic, when sailing on a cruise ship was even more ill-advised, to catapult themselves into Pinnacle status.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
The Ford also boasts a new type of catapult design that uses electricity instead of steam.
—Sascha Brodsky, Popular Mechanics, 14 Mar. 2023
But in 2016 the online-to-IRL catapult was still unpredictable.
—Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
Or at least not until Home Depot starts offering catapults and other siege equipment next to its lumber aisle.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 24 Jan. 2024
Or at least not until Home Depot offers catapults and other siege equipment next to its lumber aisle.
—John Tufts, The Enquirer, 24 Jan. 2024
Winning the Mavin auction catapults UMG deeper into the Nigerian Afrobeats scene — the umbrella genre that encompasses Afropop, Afro fusion, high life and others that continues to explode around the globe.
—Dan Rys, Billboard, 26 Feb. 2024
Hollywood is shot down and Maverick struggles due to a catapult failure, but is able to shoot down three MiGs with Iceman destroying a fourth, forcing the other two to flee.
—Jacqueline Weiss, Peoplemag, 10 Feb. 2024
The action creates more of a catapult or whipping motion, taking pressure off the elbow.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2024
The day her class spent on campus commemorating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science by building catapults out of plastic spoons was supposed to encourage the students to break the trend.
—Sarah Blaskey, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2024
Verb
Instead, the decision by President Carol Folt to revoke a speaking slot for the valedictorian ignited more controversy and catapulted the university further into debates over student activism, free speech, antisemitism and anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate.
—Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
By Brian Bennett April 17, 2024 7:08 AM EDT
The California governor’s mansion has a history of catapulting ambitious politicians onto the national stage.
—TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
Her organizational skills catapulted her to state chair of the network in 2010 and drew the admiration of Latinas across the state.
—Richard J. Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Apr. 2024
In recent years, TikTok has emerged as perhaps the most influential music discovery platform, catapulting indie artists to stardom and further elevating even the most famous musicians in the world.
—Mia Sato, The Verge, 11 Apr. 2024
The Coogan law is named after Jackie Coogan, a child actor who catapulted to fame after being discovered by Charlie Chaplin.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
Mike Budenholzer took over as the Bucks head coach in 2018 and immediately catapulted the Bucks to the top of the East (as well as helped Giannis Antetokounmpo turn into a perennial MVP candidate).
—Brian Sampson, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
After Stevenson’s second defeat, his Democratic party learned its lesson and catapulted into the age of the media campaign.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
Pandemic Pinnacles took advantage of the two-for-one accrual rate of Pinnacle points during the pandemic, when sailing on a cruise ship was even more ill-advised, to catapult themselves into Pinnacle status.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'catapult.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near catapult
Cite this Entry
“Catapult.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catapult. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
catapult
1 of 2 noun
cat·a·pult
ˈkat-ə-ˌpəlt
-ˌpu̇lt
1
: an ancient military device for hurling missiles
2
: a device for launching an airplane (as from the deck of an aircraft carrier)
catapult
2 of 2 verb1
: to throw or launch by or as if by a catapult
2
: to become catapulted
he catapulted to fame
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share