missile

adjective

mis·sile | \ ˈmi-səl

, chiefly British -ˌsīl

Definition of missile

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : capable of being thrown or projected to strike a distant object

2 : adapted for throwing or hurling missiles

missile

noun

Definition of missile (Entry 2 of 2)

: an object (such as a weapon) thrown or projected usually so as to strike something at a distance stones, artillery shells, bullets, and rockets are missiles : such as

a : guided missile

b : ballistic missile

Examples of missile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Missile launches and nuclear tests are banned by the U.N. Security Council, but North Korea has paid no attention to its resolutions. — The Washington Post, OregonLive.com, "Trump: 'All options are on the table' after North Korea missile launch," 29 Aug. 2017 Missile launches and nuclear tests are banned by the U.N. Security Council, but North Korea has paid no attention to its resolutions. — John Wagner, Washington Post, "Trump: ‘All options are on the table’ after North Korea launched missile over Japan," 29 Aug. 2017 Missile experts say the North’s shift to solids came as a surprise. — David E. Sanger And William J. Broad, New York Times, "North Korean Tests Add Urgency for U.S. to Fix Defense Flaws," 29 May 2017 Missile experts haven't identified the four intermediate-range missiles that landed on Monday off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, about 620 miles from its... — Jonathan Cheng, WSJ, "North Korea Missile Test Stirs ICBM Fears," 7 Mar. 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Last year, North Korea released American detainees, suspended nuclear and long-range missile tests and dismantled a nuclear test site and parts of a rocket launch facility without the presence of outside experts. — Deb Riechmann, The Seattle Times, "Trump to meet North Korean leader Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam," 6 Feb. 2019 North Korea escalated the frequency of its missile tests from that point. — Alex Ward, Vox, "How Trump made the North Korea crisis worse," 12 Dec. 2018 The Air Force conducts about four Minuteman III missile tests annually from Vandenberg to gather information about the weapon system’s accuracy and reliability. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Rocket Report: Kazakhstan picks SpaceX, SLS cost savings, Minuteman test," 9 Nov. 2018 The Type 815 class is built to observe and recover debris from friendly (and not-so-friendly) missile tests. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Why a Chinese Spy Ship Is Hanging Out Next to Hawaii," 17 July 2018 Nuclear missile submarines had their share of drawbacks. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Does America Still Need the Nuclear Triad?," 23 Jan. 2019 Russia says the missile doesn’t violate the agreement in any way. — Thomas Grove, WSJ, "As U.S. Nuclear Pact Hangs in the Balance, Russia Makes Last-Gasp Bid to Keep It Alive," 23 Jan. 2019 They are being developed to improve drone targetingand detect missiles. — Kelsey Piper, Vox, "The case for taking AI seriously as a threat to humanity," 21 Dec. 2018 Hamas and other militant groups retaliated with rocket and missile fire, leading to the heaviest fighting with Israel since a 2014 war. — Fares Akram, The Seattle Times, "Palestinians offer new details of Israel’s botched Gaza raid," 12 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'missile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.