Projectile

//pɹəˈd͡ʒɛk.taɪl// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An object intended to be or having been shot from a weapon.
  2. 2
    a weapon that is forcibly thrown or projected at a targets but is not self-propelled wordnet
  3. 3
    Any object propelled or thrown through space by the application of a force, such as strong wind.
  4. 4
    any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Projecting or impelling forward. not-comparable

    "a projectile force; a projectile weapon"

  2. 2
    Caused or imparted by impulse or projection; impelled forward. not-comparable

    "A free and strong Projectile Motion of the Blood must occasion a florid Appearance upon the Skin in such Constitutions"

Adjective
  1. 1
    impelling or impelled forward wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
rocketballballisticbolaboltboomerang

Example

More examples

"The teacher was hit by a projectile."

Etymology

From Medieval Latin prōiectilis (“projectile”), from Latin prōiectus, perfect passive participle of prōiciō (“throw forth; extend; expel”).

Related phrases

projectile pointprojectile vomitprojectile vomitingprojectile-vomitflying objectlike bulletoften ballistic

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