ballista
Americannoun
plural
ballistaenoun
-
an ancient catapult for hurling stones, etc
-
an ancient form of large crossbow used to propel a spear
Etymology
Origin of ballista
1590–1600; < Latin, probably < Greek *ballistā́s, dialectal variant of *ballistḗs, equivalent to báll ( ein ) to throw + -istēs -ist
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.
“Coach, you should stay on board, cover us with the ballistae.”
From Literature
They did not have gunpowder, but they had artillery in the form of the ballista.
From Literature
In ancient times, the 2,000-year-old stone was used as a missile fired from a Roman “ballista” weapon.
From Fox News
There were some crazy loops, like the way the ballista was enchanted, and a bunch of other stuff they played with on the storyboards.
From The Verge
We’ll also need a full arsenal of ballistae to fire spears at the invaders and mangonels to launch pots of burning pitch at their siege weapons.
From Washington Post
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
