missile

1 of 2

adjective

mis·​sile ˈmi-səl 

chiefly British

-ˌsīl 

1

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

2

: adapted for throwing or hurling missiles

missile

2 of 2

noun

: 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

Recent months have seen an expansion of Russian missile attacks all across Ukraine, as officials in Kyiv warn that Ukrainian stocks of anti-missile interceptor munitions are dangerously low and, in some cases, exhausted. — David Brennan, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026

The administration of President Barack Obama rightly deployed the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Air Defense) anti-missile system for this purpose. — Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026

Noun

The New York Times reports on Florida startup Powerus, whose Guardian interceptor is designed to destroy Iranian drones without resorting to multimillion-dollar missiles. — Inzamam Rashid, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026

The team highlighted that the NSWC Corona controls and ships gages to the defense industrial base partners responsible for manufacturing and assembling the Trident missile. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Latin missilis, from mittere to throw, send

First Known Use

Adjective

1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1656, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing missile

• antiballistic missile
• anti-missile
• ballistic missile
• cruise missile
• guided missile
• surface-to-air missile
• surface-to-surface missile

Rhymes for missile

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

Kids Definition

missile

noun

mis·​sile

ˈmis-əl

: an object (as a stone, arrow, artillery shell, bullet, or rocket) that is thrown, shot, or launched usually so as to strike something at a distance

Etymology

Noun

from Latin missile "a weapon that is thrown or shot rather than held in the hand," derived from missus, past participle of mittere "to send, throw" — related to emit