Trebuchet
//ˈtɹɛb.juˌʃɛt// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A medieval siege engine consisting of a large pivoting arm heavily weighted on one end.
"Medieval trebuchets are said to have been capable of launching 90-kg projectiles over distances of more than 300 meters."
- 2 catapult that uses a swinging arm to throw a projectile wordnet
- 3 A torture device for dunking suspected witches by means of a chair attached to the end of a long pole.
Verb
- 1 To shoot with a trebuchet.
Example
More examples"A trebuchet is a siege weapon similar to a catapult."
Etymology
From Old French trebuchet, trebuket et al. (modern trébuchet), from trebuchier (“to overthrow, topple”), from tres- + *buchier, from Old French buc (“trunk of the body”), from Old Frankish *būk (“belly, trunk, torso”), from Proto-Germanic *būkaz (“belly, abdomen, trunk”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰōw- (“to blow, swell”). Cognate with Old High German būh (“belly”), Old English būc (“belly, trunk”). More at bouk.
Related phrases
More for "trebuchet"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.