noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An ancient military engine, in the form of a crossbow, used for hurling large missiles. historical
2. 2
   ancient missile weapon that throws bolts or stones wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

bolt throwercatapultslingthrow stick

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ballista, from Ancient Greek βαλλίστρα (ballístra), from βάλλω (bállō, “I throw”).

Related phrases

military engine

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.