ballistic

[buh-lis-tik]

adjective

1. of or relating to ballistics.

2. having its motion determined or describable by the laws of exterior ballistics.

ballistic

/ bəˈlɪstɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to ballistics

2. denoting or relating to the flight of projectiles after power has been cut off, moving under their own momentum and the external forces of gravity and air resistance

3. (of a measurement or measuring instrument) depending on a brief impulse or current that causes a movement related to the quantity to be measured

   a ballistic pendulum

4. informal,  to become enraged or frenziedly violent

5. (of materials) strong enough to resist damage by projectile weapons

   ballistic nylon

Other Word Forms

• ballistically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ballistic¹

First recorded in 1765–75; ballist(a) + -ic

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. go ballistic, to become overwrought or irrational.

   went ballistic over the idea of a tax hike.

see go ballistic.

Example Sentences

What is mentioned less is the UK's ability to intercept ballistic missiles.

From BBC

To protect its skies from ballistic missiles, Kyiv has asked its Western partners for at least 10 units of Patriot surface-to-air defence systems which can detect and intercept oncoming missiles.

From BBC

But China is not one of them, prohibited by Congress during the Obama era from cooperating with the United States in space after attempting to steal U.S. technology on intercontinental ballistic missiles and thermonuclear weapons.

From Los Angeles Times

In January, North Korea claimed to fire a new intermediate-range ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead, which it said "will reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region".

From BBC

Unlike the more common ballistic missiles, which travel in a fairly predictable arc – a parabolic curve - hypersonic glide vehicles can move in an erratic way, manoeuvred in final flight towards their target.

From BBC