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

Prior stops in the region included visits to Divergent, an advanced manufacturing company in aerospace and other industries, and Castelion, a hypersonic missile startup founded by former SpaceX employees. —Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2026

Kyiv — Russia attacked Ukraine with a hypersonic Oreshnik missile overnight Thursday, a rare use of one of its most advanced weapons during the latest onslaught targeting the country amid freezing temperatures. —Kosta Gak, CNN Money, 9 Jan. 2026

And Russia attacked Ukraine with a new hypersonic ballistic missile. —Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 9 Jan. 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, 9 Jan. 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