harpoon
a barbed, spearlike missile attached to a rope, and thrown by hand or shot from a gun, used for killing and capturing whales and large fish.
Harpoon, Military. a jet-powered, radar-guided U.S. Navy cruise missile with a high explosive warhead designed for use against surface ships and launchable from a surface vessel, submerged submarine, or aircraft.
to strike, catch, or kill with or as if with a harpoon.
Origin of harpoon
1Other words from harpoon
- har·poon·er, noun
- har·poon·like, adjective
Words Nearby harpoon
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use harpoon in a sentence
Even in a real mission, Kallenborn notes, the drones would carry just a few pounds of explosive each, compared with the 488-pound warhead on a harpoon anti-ship missile.
The US Navy wants swarms of thousands of small drones | David Hambling | October 24, 2022 | MIT Technology ReviewLike a harpoon festooned with venomous barbs, the stinger rapidly transforms as it fires, biologists Matt Gibson, Ahmet Karabulut and colleagues report June 17 in Nature Communications.
In addition to famous mainstream breweries like Sam Adams and harpoon, there are also a number of up-and-coming breweries.
In 2018, the RemoveDEBRIS mission tested a harpoon for hooking large pieces of debris while in orbit, among other techniques.
This week’s destroyed Russian satellite created even more dangerous space debris | Kelsey D. Atherton | November 17, 2021 | Popular-ScienceMost of the best wireless gaming mice cost much more than the harpoon RGB Wireless.
The best cheap gaming mice offer incredible clicking for less than $50 | Brendan Hesse | November 10, 2021 | Popular-Science
We passed several large sting-rays asleep on the surface of the sea, which our people ineffectually endeavoured to harpoon.
By bending one finger like a hook and striking the butt of the shaft, he could send a harpoon straight to the mark.
The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth DoppTake a harpoon and show how the shaft would swing against the feet of an animal that had been hit by the head.
The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth DoppKamelillo had a bamboo pole in his hand to pole the raft with, but he had shod it with his harpoon head.
The Belted Seas | Arthur ColtonThey are caught at night in shallow places along the sandy beach, a torch, harpoon, and net being the necessary outfit.
British Dictionary definitions for harpoon
/ (hɑːˈpuːn) /
a barbed missile attached to a long cord and hurled or fired from a gun when hunting whales, etc
(as modifier): a harpoon gun
(tr) to spear with or as if with a harpoon
Origin of harpoon
1Derived forms of harpoon
- harpooner or harpooneer, noun
- harpoon-like, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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