ricochet

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noun ric·o·chet \ ˈri-kə-ˌshā , British also -ˌshet \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of ricochet

:a glancing rebound (as of a projectile off a flat surface)

the ricochet of the bullet off the wall

; also :an object that ricochets

He was hit by a ricochet.

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Examples of ricochet in a Sentence

He was hit by a ricochet.
the richochet of the bullet off the wall

Recent Examples of ricochet from the Web

This second person, who was also not identified, did not get out of the car and was wounded by a possible bullet ricochet and taken to the hospital, the sheriff said.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Ohio judge shot in 'ambush' outside courthouse, returns fire and kills attacker," 21 Aug. 2017
City had the ball in the net after 26 minutes through Jesus, but the goal was ruled out due to an accidental ricochet onto the Brazilian prodigy's arm on it's way into the net.

— SI.com, "Brighton 0-2 Manchester City: Citizens Eventually Break Down Resilient Seagulls to Claim Opening Win," 12 Aug. 2017
Ricochet and Strickland, who both live in Orlando, are two of the most sought-after wrestlers for promoters around the world.

— jay reddick, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Ricochet vs. Shane Strickland to main-event MLW wrestling at Gilt," 24 July 2017
The ball Altuve hit came off the wall so hard that Heredia was standing there and caught it off the ricochet.

— ryan divish, The Seattle Times, "‘Five-star play’ on outfield wall ricochet saved Mariners in Houston," 19 July 2017
OAKLAND — On his signature play of these NBA Finals, LeBron James tossed the ball off the backboard, caught his own ricochet and slammed it home.

— daniel brown, The Mercury News, "Can LeBron James rain on the Warriors’ parade again?," 11 June 2017
The first, a ricochet off Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm, gave the Penguins a 3-0 lead with 17 seconds left in the first period.

— will graves, The Seattle Times, "Penguins wary, Predators confident as Game 2 looms," 30 May 2017
At that point, the remaining material ricochets off the high-density core and is ejected out into space in a massive explosion.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "NASA's New ISS Experiment Will Study Mysterious Pulsars," 29 May 2017
OAKLAND — An Oakland man survived after suffering a ricochet wound to his face in an East Oakland shooting Saturday night, police said.

— harry harris, The Mercury News, "Oakland man survives ricochet bullet wound to face," 14 May 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of ricochet

French

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First Known Use: 1740

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ricochet

verb

Definition of ricochet

ricocheted \-ˌshād\ also ricochetted \-ˌshe-təd\; ricocheting \-ˌshā-iŋ\ also ricochetting \-ˌshe-tiŋ\

intransitive verb

:to bounce or skip with or as if with a glancing rebound

The bullet that hit President Reagan had ricocheted off the presidential limousine.
—David Fisher

The ball ricochets at a right angle, falling with force into the first baseman's glove …
—Bob Drury

The chute snaps open, the sound ricocheting through the gorge like a gunshot, and McGuire is soaring, carving S turns into the air, swooping over a winding creek.
—Karl Taro Greenfeld