ballistic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to ballistics.
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having its motion determined or describable by the laws of exterior ballistics.
idioms
adjective
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of or relating to ballistics
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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
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(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
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informal to become enraged or frenziedly violent
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(of materials) strong enough to resist damage by projectile weapons
ballistic nylon
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ballistic
First recorded in 1765–75; ballist(a) + -ic
Explanation
The adjective ballistic describes the flight of an object through space. It usually applies to projectiles like bullets or rockets that are fired from weapons. If you’re in the path of a ballistic missile, get out of the way! A ballistic missile is guided only when it’s first launched. After that its flight is subject to the law of gravity. The word comes from a Roman weapon called a ballista, which chucked rocks into the air, whose name comes from the Greek for "throw." If someone has “gone ballistic,” they're crazy with anger. When you go ballistic, you’re just like an unmanned missile: you fly into a fit of rage and lose control over your feelings or actions.
Vocabulary lists containing ballistic
John F. Kennedy's Address to the American People on the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
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The Launch of Sputnik 1
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Vocabulary: A Rapper's Delight!
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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.
But dynamic targets, such as mobile ballistic missile launchers, are trickier to hit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
On Thursday, North Korea launched around 10 short-range ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Days before the military exercise, North Korea launched ballistic missiles towards Japan and repeated a warning that it had the right to exercise its nuclear weapons should the country be threatened.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Hours after Trump's remarks, an official from Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff told AFP that the North fired "around 10 short-range ballistic missiles" from the Pyongyang area.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
It put the world on notice that North Korea was moving ever closer to having the ability to strike the continental United States with a nuclear-armed ballistic missile.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
