slingshot
noun
sling·shot
ˈsliŋ-ˌshät 
1
: a forked stick with an elastic band attached for shooting small stones
2
a
: a maneuver in auto racing in which a drafting car accelerates past the car in front by taking advantage of reserve power
b
: a dragster in which the driver sits behind the rear wheels
Examples of slingshot in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
At a time when his peers were writing about fanciful balloon trips to other planets, Jules Verne dealt realistically with escape velocity, orbital slingshots, and course-correction burns.
—
Neil Oseman, Space.com, 14 June 2026
Psyche used Martian gravity like a slingshot to gain enough speed to reshape its orbit around the Sun, putting the probe on a path to intercept its asteroid target.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 20 May 2026
The gravity assist maneuver will act not unlike a slingshot, propelling the spacecraft on a trajectory to arrive at the metallic main-belt asteroid Psyche in 2029, NASA explained.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 15 May 2026
The crew — including NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — has been back on Earth for one week after a history-making, slingshot trip around the moon.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2026
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Neil Oseman, Space.com, 14 June 2026
Psyche used Martian gravity like a slingshot to gain enough speed to reshape its orbit around the Sun, putting the probe on a path to intercept its asteroid target.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 20 May 2026
The gravity assist maneuver will act not unlike a slingshot, propelling the spacecraft on a trajectory to arrive at the metallic main-belt asteroid Psyche in 2029, NASA explained.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 15 May 2026
The crew — including NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen — has been back on Earth for one week after a history-making, slingshot trip around the moon.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for slingshot
Cite this Entry
“Slingshot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slingshot. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
slingshot
noun
sling·shot
ˈsliŋ-ˌshät
: a forked stick with an elastic band attached for shooting small stones
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