sounding rocket

noun

: a rocket used especially to obtain information concerning atmospheric conditions at various altitudes

Examples of sounding rocket in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The suborbital research rockets, known as sounding rockets, will launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. Denise Chow, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2025 Sensors placed on sounding rockets make occasional measurements of the region, but most of the processes taking place there are little understood. Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 16 Aug. 2025 Here's everything to know about sounding rockets and the latest NASA mission from New Mexico near the Texas border. Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 21 July 2025 Interstellar has launched a handful of sounding rockets but hasn't yet built an orbital launcher. ArsTechnica, 18 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for sounding rocket

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1945, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sounding rocket was circa 1945

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Cite this Entry

“Sounding rocket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sounding%20rocket. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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