projectile

noun pro·jec·tile \ prə-ˈjek-tᵊl , -ˌtī(-ə)l , chiefly British ˈprä-jik-ˌtī(-ə)l \

Definition of projectile

1 : a body projected by external force and continuing in motion by its own inertia; especially : a missile for a weapon (such as a firearm)

2 : a self-propelling weapon (such as a rocket)

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Examples of projectile in a Sentence

The cannon fires a ten-pound projectile.
Someone threw a projectile at her car.

Recent Examples of projectile from the Web

Someone should have told him that baseball projectiles can reach speeds of more than 100 mph.

— anne nickoloff, cleveland.com, "Kesha craze to invade local bars after Lakewood concert," 11 Oct. 2017
These usually come in the form of enemy projectiles, which are often drawn with the too-perfect vector lines and shapes more commonly seen in Flash animations.

— kyle orland, Ars Technica, "Cuphead is the prettiest game to make you throw your controller," 29 Sep. 2017
Police used pepper spray and tear gas to disperse the crowd and said some people threw rocks and other projectiles.

— tribune news service, OregonLive.com, "'Black identity extremists' join Portland protesters under Homeland Security's domestic terrorist list," 28 Oct. 2017
The officers fired the projectiles while trying to clear protesters who were trying to impede National Police cars from leaving after police confiscated ballot boxes from the voting center.

— Bloomberg.com, "The Latest on Catalonia's Independence Referendum," 2 Oct. 2017
The missile launch that took place on Friday, in which the projectile was lofted over northern Japan, was from one of those mobile launchers, fueled by UDMH, spy satellites showed.

— william j. broad and david e. sanger, New York Times, "The Rare, Potent Fuel Powering North Korea’s Weapons," 17 Sep. 2017
The term is also used in reference to smaller projectiles, too: bullets and the like.

— ruth walker, The Christian Science Monitor, "Ballistics: What goes up must come down," 14 Sep. 2017
And in the British Virgin Islands, where Irma's death toll also reached four, Gov. Augustus Jaspert said Maria could bring 6 to 20 inches of rain — and turn Irma's detritus into projectiles with its powerful winds.

— tim stelloh, NBC News, "Hurricane Maria Takes Aim at Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands," 18 Sep. 2017
His 53 home runs this season will easily attest to that fact, as does the fact that most of those dingers leave his bat at upwards of 110 mph—a terrifying speed for anything, much less a tiny solid projectile.

— jon tayler, SI.com, "Giancarlo Stanton Broke a TV Camera at Marlins Park With His 53rd Home Run," 5 Sep. 2017

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