go ballistic
idiom
informal
1
: to become very angry
Dad went ballistic when he saw the dent in his car.
2
US
: to become very excited
The crowd was going ballistic as the runner took the lead.
Examples of go ballistic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And late in 2020, the British tabloid The Sun published a recording of Tom Cruise going ballistic on the set of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning.
—
Bob Mondello, NPR, 9 Mar. 2025
Cooper goes ballistic when Lady Raven locks the door and refuses to come out.
—Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 13 Mar. 2025
With that in mind, Onya and Arrietty go outside while Lexi’s tarp is drying and use it to spray-paint their outfits on, resulting in a giant brown splotch that Lexi then sees and goes ballistic over.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
That bill was set for passage this week before Elon Musk went ballistic on social platform X, pointing out some real extraneous spending, as well as some misinformation, about what was in the bill.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 20 Dec. 2024
In a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Thorogood and his colleagues share how the squirting cucumber goes ballistic.
—Carolyn Wilke, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2024
And when his squad tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning at 2-2, Mahomes went ballistic in his suite to the point of screaming in the face of a former teammate wearing Yankees gear.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 10 Oct. 2024
Manager Bud Black went ballistic and immediately got tossed.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 18 June 2024
When all this was announced, the internet went ballistic.
—Rob Ledonne, Billboard, 12 Dec. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Bob Mondello, NPR, 9 Mar. 2025
Cooper goes ballistic when Lady Raven locks the door and refuses to come out.
—Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 13 Mar. 2025
With that in mind, Onya and Arrietty go outside while Lexi’s tarp is drying and use it to spray-paint their outfits on, resulting in a giant brown splotch that Lexi then sees and goes ballistic over.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025
That bill was set for passage this week before Elon Musk went ballistic on social platform X, pointing out some real extraneous spending, as well as some misinformation, about what was in the bill.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 20 Dec. 2024
In a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Thorogood and his colleagues share how the squirting cucumber goes ballistic.
—Carolyn Wilke, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2024
And when his squad tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning at 2-2, Mahomes went ballistic in his suite to the point of screaming in the face of a former teammate wearing Yankees gear.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 10 Oct. 2024
Manager Bud Black went ballistic and immediately got tossed.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 18 June 2024
When all this was announced, the internet went ballistic.
—Rob Ledonne, Billboard, 12 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Go ballistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/go%20ballistic. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share