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ballistic missile

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noun Rocketry.
any missile that, after being launched and possibly guided during takeoff, travels unpowered in a ballistic trajectory.

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Origin of ballistic missile

First recorded in 1950–55
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ballistic missile in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ballistic missile

ballistic missile

noun
a missile that has no wings or fins and that follows a ballistic trajectory when its propulsive power is discontinued
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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