bazooka

[buh-zoo-kuh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bazooka ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Military.

a tube-shaped, portable rocket launcher that fires a rocket capable of penetrating several inches of armor plate, as of a tank or other armored military vehicle.

Origin of bazooka

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35; from its resemblance to a musical instrument so named, invented and played by comedian Bob Burns in the 1930s and 1940s

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bazooka

Contemporary Examples of bazooka

Once he hits eight, we can head on over to Bullets & Burgers, and who knows, maybe they'll let him strap on a bazooka.
9-Year Old With an Uzi? America Is Tougher on Toys Than Guns
Cliff Schecter
August 28, 2014
With literal fidelity, the band members perform with an AK-47 and a bazooka strapped onto their shoulders.
Are Narcocorrido Mexican Drug Ballads Really That Bad?
Jimmy So
November 24, 2013
If they were, then we could all run out and purchase a tank, a grenade launcher, a bazooka, a SCUD missile and a nuclear warhead.
Zimmerman Verdict: Actor Jason Alexander Says We Should Blame the Gun
Laura Colarusso
July 15, 2013
If the vice presidential debate were a movie, it might be called Bazooka Joe Rides Again.
Face It, Republicans, ‘Bazooka Joe’ Biden Won the VP Debate
Matt Latimer
October 12, 2012
He went so far as to call Bazooka Joe his “new Mickey Mouse” in an interview with USA Today.
Why Eisner Fits at Tribune
Peter Lauria
August 26, 2010

Historical Examples of bazooka

Ned closed his hand on the tube of the bazooka and it was so much old drainpipe.
Arm of the Law
Harry Harrison
It was the eighth missile from the bazooka which ended the battle.
Creatures of the Abyss
Murray Leinster
"Bazooka shells ought to discourage anything," Davis said in an icy voice.
Creatures of the Abyss
Murray Leinster
The cab started with a cough and a roar, and shot out of the terminal like a bazooka shell.
Charley de Milo
Laurence Mark Janifer AKA Larry M. Harris

British Dictionary definitions for bazooka

bazooka

noun

a portable tubular rocket-launcher that fires a projectile capable of piercing armour: used by infantrymen as a short-range antitank weapon

Word Origin for bazooka

C20: named after a pipe instrument invented by Bob Burns (1896–1956), American comedian

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

Word Origin and History for bazooka

"metal tube rocket launcher," 1942, from name of a junkyard musical instrument used (c.1935) as a prop by U.S. comedian Bob Burns (1896-1956); extension of bazoo, slang for "mouth" or "boastful talk" (1877), probably from Dutch bazuin "trumpet."