ric·o·chet
ˈri-kə-ˌshā 
British also -ˌshet
: a glancing rebound (as of a projectile off a flat surface)
the ricochet of the bullet off the wall
ricocheted
ˈri-kə-ˌshād
also ricochetted
ˈri-kə-ˌshe-təd
; ricocheting
ˈri-kə-ˌshā-iŋ
also ricochetting
ˈri-kə-ˌshe-tiŋ
also ricochetted
ˈri-kə-ˌshe-təd
; ricocheting
ˈri-kə-ˌshā-iŋ
also ricochetting
ˈri-kə-ˌshe-tiŋ
: 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
David FisherThe ball ricochets at a right angle, falling with force into the first baseman's glove …—Bob Drury
Bob DruryThe 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
Karl Taro Greenfeld
Examples of ricochet in a Sentence
Noun
He was hit by a ricochet.
the ricochet of the bullet off the wall
Verb
The bullet ricocheted off the wall.
the ball ricocheted off the fielder's glove and went over the fence for a home run
Recent Examples on the WebJohn Hopewell, Variety, 16 Jan. 2024
After a few seconds, while the two tussle, a gun seems to go off and a bullet ricochets off the pavement near the body of the man, who remains on the ground.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023
One of them suffered a ricochet wound, Taylor said.
—CBS News, 31 Jan. 2023
Based on the details of those ricochets, the group could infer how the material responded to the collision, which in turn revealed properties of any waves the collision created.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 9 Oct. 2023
No hoping that a ricochet goes their way in a shootout.
—John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2023
Such a ricochet actually stretches the brain’s neurons, which may disrupt the cells’ crucial connectivity and the flow of neurotransmitters.
—Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 18 July 2023
Gibson eventually learned the wall was slightly angled, causing that ricochet.
—Nathan Ruiz, Baltimore Sun, 28 July 2023
And Portugal came within a ricochet of knocking out the Americans.
—John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Aug. 2023
Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Although many of the tracks have ricocheting, 2-step-esque beats underpinning them, few of the songs here could really be considered dance music (and even those would be a very low-key dance music).
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
Police said the crash happened after the driver of the Lamborghini went onto the left shoulder of North Central Expressway, lost control, hit the median wall and ricocheted back into traffic.
—James Hartley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2024
Within hours, a video of the 25-year-old sharing his message to evacuate ricocheted around the internet, quickly going viral before garnering attention from several mainstream media outlets.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 22 Feb. 2024
There are many more where these came from and similar sentiments ricocheting all over TikTok.
—Peter C. Baker, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024
Noah Dobson slapped a rolling puck from the right circle that ricocheted off an defender right to Horvat, who put a quick wrister past Ingram from the slot.
—Jack Magruder, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024
Russians gathered for impromptu vigils in cities around the world, while images of people laying flowers at memorial sites in Russian cities ricocheted across social media.
—Anton Troianovski, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024
With California ricocheting between ever-more-devastating droughts and storms — and more prone than ever to destructive conflagrations — his expertise has been increasingly in demand.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2023
Noun
Argentina lost after a freak ricochet score and a moment of genius by Saudi attacker Salem al-Dawsari who evaded three Argentine players and scorched a shot past Argentine stopper Dibu Martínez.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 16 Jan. 2024
After a few seconds, while the two tussle, a gun seems to go off and a bullet ricochets off the pavement near the body of the man, who remains on the ground.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023
One of them suffered a ricochet wound, Taylor said.
—CBS News, 31 Jan. 2023
Based on the details of those ricochets, the group could infer how the material responded to the collision, which in turn revealed properties of any waves the collision created.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 9 Oct. 2023
No hoping that a ricochet goes their way in a shootout.
—John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Aug. 2023
Such a ricochet actually stretches the brain’s neurons, which may disrupt the cells’ crucial connectivity and the flow of neurotransmitters.
—Lauren J. Young, Scientific American, 18 July 2023
Gibson eventually learned the wall was slightly angled, causing that ricochet.
—Nathan Ruiz, Baltimore Sun, 28 July 2023
And Portugal came within a ricochet of knocking out the Americans.
—John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Aug. 2023
Verb
The bullet hit the floor and ricocheted up into the ceiling.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Although many of the tracks have ricocheting, 2-step-esque beats underpinning them, few of the songs here could really be considered dance music (and even those would be a very low-key dance music).
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
Police said the crash happened after the driver of the Lamborghini went onto the left shoulder of North Central Expressway, lost control, hit the median wall and ricocheted back into traffic.
—James Hartley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Apr. 2024
Within hours, a video of the 25-year-old sharing his message to evacuate ricocheted around the internet, quickly going viral before garnering attention from several mainstream media outlets.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 22 Feb. 2024
There are many more where these came from and similar sentiments ricocheting all over TikTok.
—Peter C. Baker, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024
Noah Dobson slapped a rolling puck from the right circle that ricocheted off an defender right to Horvat, who put a quick wrister past Ingram from the slot.
—Jack Magruder, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024
Russians gathered for impromptu vigils in cities around the world, while images of people laying flowers at memorial sites in Russian cities ricocheted across social media.
—Anton Troianovski, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024
With California ricocheting between ever-more-devastating droughts and storms — and more prone than ever to destructive conflagrations — his expertise has been increasingly in demand.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ricochet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ricochet
Cite this Entry
“Ricochet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ricochet. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ricochet
1 of 2 noun
ric·o·chet
ˈrik-ə-ˌshā
British also -ˌshet
1
: a bouncing off at an angle (as of a bullet off a flat surface)
2
: an object that ricochets
ricochet
2 of 2 verb
ricocheted
-ˌshād
also ricochetted
-ˌshet-əd
; ricocheting
-ˌshā-iŋ
also ricochetting
-ˌshet-iŋ
: to bounce off at an angle
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