torpedo
Americannoun
-
torpedoes
plural
-
a self-propelled, cigar-shaped missile containing explosives and often equipped with a homing device, launched from a submarine or other warship, for destroying surface vessels or other submarines.
-
any of various submarine explosive devices for destroying hostile ships, as a mine.
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a cartridge of gunpowder, dynamite, or the like, exploded in an oil well to facilitate the extraction of oil from the well.
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a detonating device fastened to the top of a rail so as to be exploded by the pressure of a locomotive or car, thus giving an audible signal to members of a train crew.
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any of various other explosive devices, as a firework that consists of an explosive wrapped up with gravel in a piece of tissue paper and that detonates when thrown forcibly on the ground or against a hard surface.
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Also called torpedo fish. an electric ray, especially Torpedo nobiliana, of the Atlantic Ocean.
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an electric catfish, Malapterurus electricus, inhabiting waters of tropical central Africa and the Nile valley.
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Informal. a hero sandwich.
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Slang. a gangster hired as a murderer.
verb (used with object)
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torpedoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
torpedoed,
past participle, past
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torpedoing
present participle
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to attack, hit, damage, or destroy with torpedoes.
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to explode a torpedo in (an oil well) to facilitate the extraction of oil.
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to undermine, ruin, or destroy.
He torpedoed our plans.
verb (used without object)
-
torpedoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
torpedoed,
past participle, past
-
torpedoing
present participle
noun
-
a cylindrical self-propelled weapon carrying explosives that is launched from aircraft, ships, or submarines and follows an underwater path to hit its target
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obsolete a submarine mine
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a firework containing gravel and a percussion cap that explodes when dashed against a hard surface
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a detonator placed on a railway line as a danger signal
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any of various electric rays of the genus Torpedo
verb
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to hit (a ship, etc) with one or a number of torpedoes
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to render ineffective; destroy or wreck
to torpedo the administration's plan
Regional Use
See hero sandwich.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
torpedosimple
-
torpedoessimple
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have torpedoedperfect
-
has torpedoedperfect
-
am torpedoingprogressive
-
are torpedoingprogressive
-
is torpedoingprogressive
-
have been torpedoingperfect progressive
-
has been torpedoingperfect progressive
Past
-
torpedoedsimple
-
had torpedoedperfect
-
was torpedoingprogressive
-
were torpedoingprogressive
-
had been torpedoingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of torpedo
1510–20; < Latin torpēdō numbness, torpidity, electric ray, equivalent to torpē ( re ) to be stiff ( see torpid 1) + -dō noun suffix
Explanation
A torpedo is a type of missile or bomb fired underwater. To torpedo is to attack with torpedoes. Torpedoes are cigar-shaped projectiles that are used to attack other submarines or boats. The word torpedo comes from the name of a kind of electric ray that numbs you with its sting (torpediniformes). Torpedoes can also be used to attack a target on land. When a submarine fires torpedoes, they're torpedoing the target. Torpedoes explode upon impact, and they're very powerful weapons.
Vocabulary lists containing torpedo
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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:
North Korea has separately tested a slew of weapons recently, including a "new-type" precision-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile, both of which were said to use AI technology.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
But North Korea may need more time to advance its torpedo system, particularly in reducing the noise it generates underwater, he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
The Royal Navy said one of Rice's close encounters was a torpedo being fired towards the boat he was on, only for the missile to go beneath the hull.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
A year later, Raman was seen as such a threat that the powers that be sought to torpedo her for good.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
But that time it set me off like a high-yield quantum torpedo.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
"South Korea and the United States deploy decoy targets to divert torpedoes, but AI could potentially help distinguish real targets from decoys," Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
UC-30 was carrying 18 mines and six torpedoes, leaving the submarine packed with explosives.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
The USS Joseph P. Kennedy — a Gearing-class destroyer once equipped with Mark 32 torpedoes, anti-submarine missiles, and nuclear depth charges — has been decorated for Christmas.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
But a whopping betrayal torpedoes the friendship—and Nora’s delusions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
Winning jockeys are daring jockeys, capable of gunning a horse through the narrowest hole with damn-the- torpedoes bravado.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
In an unprecedented decision last year, a crucial summary of the Global Environment Outlook, a flagship UN scientific report, was torpedoed as nations rowed over fossil fuels.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Even Moore acknowledged the flub that had torpedoed his team’s chances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The strange legal saga that torpedoed Jeff Shell’s career at Paramount Skydance has ended with a whimper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
White House officials gave him the boot last summer after he torpedoed gene therapies, causing a ruckus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
Publication of the Zimmermann telegram was followed by German U-boat attacks on four American ships, which were torpedoed without warning.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Perhaps the Rogers campaign is correct, and El-Sayed’s connection to the Twitch streamer will prove to be uniquely toxic, torpedoing his chances in the general.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
A US submarine this week torpedoing an Iranian warship during the Middle East conflict raised the crucial question of who controls the seas during wartime.
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has denied accusations of "torpedoing" the plans.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2025
Whatever the origin story, the texts have been curated and released by both Jones and Lively, effectively torpedoing their adversaries in one fell swoop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2024
The Lusitania sailed on her last voyage May 1st, 1915, and a week later her torpedoing by a German U-boat was reported.
From Submarine Warfare of To-day How the Submarine Menace was Met and Vanquished, With Descriptions of the Inventions and Devices Used, Fast Boats, Mystery Ships by Charles W. (Charles William) Domville-Fife
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