hypersonic

adjective

hy·​per·​son·​ic ˌhī-pər-ˈsä-nik 

1

: of or relating to speed five or more times that of sound in air compare sonic

2

: moving, capable of moving, or utilizing air currents that move at hypersonic speed

hypersonic wind tunnel

hypersonically

ˌhī-pər-ˈsä-ni-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Examples of hypersonic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Although the small Barracuda hypersonic suborbital rocket is capable of reaching 100 km, this rocket did not do so due to an anomaly in the later stages of its flight. —Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026

Autonomous vessel meets hypersonic firepower According to the agreement, Saronic’s Marauder unmanned vessel will launch Castelion’s Blackbeard hypersonic vehicle. —Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 12 June 2026

Payloads included two satellites for the Missile Defense Agency to track hypersonic missiles and four more satellites for the Tranche 0 constellation for the Space Development Agency. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 June 2026

So, in response, Putin has sent three hypersonic missiles into Kyiv. —ABC News, 7 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hypersonic

• anharmonic
• anionic
• avionic
• catatonic
• cationic
• chorionic
• cosmogonic
• diachronic
• diatonic
• electronic
• embryonic
• excitonic