ballistic

American  

[buh-lis-tik] / bəˈlɪs tɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to ballistics.

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

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idioms

1. go ballistic, to become overwrought or irrational.

   went ballistic over the idea of a tax hike.

ballistic British  

/ 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

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ballistic More Idioms  

1. see go ballistic.

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Other Word Forms

• ballistically adverb

Etymology

Origin of ballistic

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

Example Sentences

“We consider it unrealistic,” he said, adding it would take too long, and expose all ships that go through the strait to threats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and ballistic missiles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Claim: “They were also rapidly building a vast stockpile of conventional ballistic missiles and would have soon had missiles that could reach the American homeland, Europe, and virtually any other place on earth.”

From Slate • Apr. 2, 2026

“I think people were surprised to find out they had a ballistic missile that could go 3,000 miles,” he said.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

President Donald Trump last year ordered his administration to develop a plan for a space-based shield capable of intercepting ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles, which he dubbed the “Golden Dome.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 25, 2026

Sputnik was proof, American policymakers assumed, that the Soviet Union had intercontinental ballistic missiles—many of them, hundreds perhaps, with the power to hurl an atomic weapon at US cities.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly