ricochet
Americannoun
-
ricochets
plural
verb (used without object)
-
ricochets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ricocheted,
past participle, past
-
ricochetted,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
ricocheting,
present participle
-
ricochetting
present participle (especially British)
verb
noun
-
the motion or sound of a rebounding object, esp a bullet
-
an object, esp a bullet, that ricochets
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ricochetsimple
-
ricochetssimple
-
have ricochetedperfect
-
have ricochettedperfect
-
has ricochetedperfect
-
has ricochettedperfect
-
am ricochetingprogressive
-
am ricochettingprogressive
-
are ricochetingprogressive
-
are ricochettingprogressive
-
is ricochetingprogressive
-
is ricochettingprogressive
-
have been ricochetingperfect progressive
-
have been ricochettingperfect progressive
-
has been ricochetingperfect progressive
-
has been ricochettingperfect progressive
Past
-
ricochetedsimple
-
ricochettedsimple
-
had ricochetedperfect
-
had ricochettedperfect
-
was ricochetingprogressive
-
was ricochettingprogressive
-
were ricochetingprogressive
-
were ricochettingprogressive
-
had been ricochetingperfect progressive
-
had been ricochettingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ricochet
First recorded in 1760–70; from French; further origin uncertain
Explanation
A projectile that bounces off another surface is said to ricochet. You missed when you threw your crumpled paper at the wastepaper basket. Instead, the paper ricocheted off the wall and hit your brother on the head. The battle was on! As a noun, ricochet refers to the rebound or to the object that ricochets. If someone shoots a bullet and it ricochets off a tree, you can survive the initial gunfire only to be caught by the ricochet. The word ricochet is from the French word of the same spelling. Because of its French origin, the word is still pronounced with the soft French "shay" sound at the end — not a hard "T."
Vocabulary lists containing ricochet
Touching Spirit Bear
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The Skin I'm In
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Code Talker
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Engineers said they were able to debunk some "myths", including that bullets can ricochet off the curve in the ballistic plate.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
That means any deteriorating credit backdrop, a pickup in credit losses or higher yields still could ricochet through private credit or other publicly traded funds.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
The court ruling was the latest legal move to ricochet through the interoceanic waterway, which handles about 40 percent of US container traffic and five percent of world trade.
From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026
The appropriations ricochet off the feminist imitations of Andy Warhol and Frank Stella paintings that Elaine Sturtevant began to make in the 1960s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2025
During these five years of soldiering Adam did more detail work than any man in the squadron, but if he killed any enemy it was an accident of ricochet.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
As AI spending ricochets across the enterprise, many organization leaders still can’t say with confidence what they’re actually getting for it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
"Is anyone alive in here?!" the voice of Moises Faramaya ricochets around the ruins of the same neighborhood.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
In her refusal to shy away from the grime and grit of Yuknavitch’s story, Stewart creates a startlingly raw atmosphere that ricochets between discordant and truly inspiring.
From Salon ● Jan. 1, 2026
There's almost a Ben Stokes World Cup final 2019 moment, as Sciver-Brunt comes back for the second and the throw in from the fielder ricochets off her bat.
From BBC ● May 16, 2024
The sheer noisiness of them, of their heavy boots, and loud voices, buzzed on by their sense of urgency, ricochets through the quiet hush of the hospital and breathes some life into the place.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
Close-up shots of him face-to-face with Holmes have ricocheted across social media and already become the stuff of meme gold.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Djokovic was serving for a place in the final when the ball ricocheted off the back of the court.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
But then he appeared to backtrack after his critique made headlines and ricocheted around social media.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
Video of Altman looking quizzically at the investigator ricocheted around the internet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
I said, at last, in answer to some other ricocheted questions, “I left the church twenty years ago and I haven’t joined anything since.”
From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
It struck the water, and ricochetted not three yards off.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 83, September, 1864 by Various
“It touched the roof, ricochetted off, and burst away behind.”
From With Rifle and Bayonet A Story of the Boer War by F. S. (Frederick Sadleir) Brereton
Dave had ricochetted ever since between amusement and chagrin at her generalship.
From The Cow Puncher by Robert J. C. Stead
A moment later the battery replied with their 9-tonners, sending forth shot after shot, most of which, however, ricochetted away over the glassy sea.
From The Great War in England in 1897 by William Le Queux
It ricochetted and struck again half a mile outside.
From The Boys of '98 by James Otis
Now, the template of how the team made a softer, affordable diaper is ricocheting across the $33 billion company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Here, Smith shows off his footballing skills to stop the ball from ricocheting on to the stumps during the Lord's Test.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025
Their motion resembles a pinball ricocheting between stationary posts.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 17, 2025
The incident has fueled a storm of late-summer ridicule, with memes ricocheting across social media and commentators pointing to the almost slapstick nature of the scandal.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2025
He slammed into the trunk of a tree, ricocheting off.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
These came down past us like cannon-balls, ricochetting by big bounds.
From Noto: an Unexplained Corner of Japan by Percival Lowell
He had just lain down on a soaking couch of spruce boughs when the ricochetting echo of a gun set the boulders crashing down the precipices.
From Pathfinders of the West Being the Thrilling Story of the Adventures of the Men Who Discovered the Great Northwest: Radisson, La Vérendrye, Lewis and Clark by Agnes C. (Agnes Christina) Laut
Down, leaping, ricochetting, thundering, hurtled a great boulder, spurning the cliff-face with a tremendous uproar.
From Darkness and Dawn by George Allan England
From cunningly concealed shore batteries, that seemed to multiply with hydra-headed persistence, German shells hurtled through the air, for the most part ricochetting harmlessly.
From Billy Barcroft, R.N.A.S. A story of the Great War by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
The balls went skipping along after striking the ground a hundred yards or so beyond the enemy’s battery, and, ricochetting, darted right for the solid moving mass of men.
From The Young Castellan A Tale of the English Civil War by George Manville Fenn
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