projectile

1 of 2

noun

pro·​jec·​tile prə-ˈjek-tᵊl  -ˌtī(-ə)l 

 chiefly British  ˈprä-jik-ˌtī(-ə)l

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)

projectile

2 of 2

adjective

1

: projecting or impelling forward

a projectile force

2

: capable of being thrust forward

Examples of projectile in a Sentence

Noun

The cannon fires a ten-pound projectile.

Someone threw a projectile at her car.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attributed the failure to intercept the projectile to a technical malfunction in its missile defense system. —Amira El-Fekki‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 May 2025

Russia’s current missile strategy relies on overwhelming Ukrainian air defenses with large quantities of projectiles. —Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

Adjective

Police badly wounded people with projectile weapons at the George Floyd protests and the Lakers’ NBA title celebration in L.A., spurring a mountain of lawsuits — which have cost taxpayers millions and still aren’t fully resolved. —Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2024

This, together with competition from H. sapiens, who likely possessed technologies like projectile weapons, likely contributed to these other human species going extinct. —Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1564, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1715, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing projectile

• projectile vomiting

Rhymes for projectile

• erectile
• anorectal
• colorectal
• dialectal
• rectal

Kids Definition

projectile

noun

pro·​jec·​tile

prə-ˈjek-tᵊl

: something (as a bullet or rocket) thrown or driven forward especially from or for use as a weapon