cruise missile

noun

: a guided missile that has a terrain-following radar system and that flies at moderate speed and low altitude

Examples of cruise missile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 166 drones, 32 cruise missiles and an unspecified number of anti-ship and ballistic missiles into the country overnight. — David Brennan, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026

Five people were killed and 25 others were wounded in the attack, which involved ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, according to the Ukrainian Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi. — Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026

Lockheed Martin’s 500 kW JLWS Lockheed Martin is developing a 500-kilowatt Joint Laser Weapon System intended to defeat unmanned aircraft and cruise missiles. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026

In 2006, for instance, a Hezbollah cruise missile struck the Israeli corvette Hanit, which was operating in the waters off Lebanon. — Holmes Liao, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cruise missile

• abyssal
• dismissal
• epistle
• bristle
• fissile
• gristle
• missal
• nissl
• thistle
• whistle