cannonball

[kan-uh n-bawl]

noun Also cannon ball.

a missile, usually round and made of iron or steel, designed to be fired from a cannon.
Tennis. a served ball that travels with great speed and describes little or no arc in flight.
anything that moves with great speed, as an express train.

adjective

made from a curled-up position with the arms pressing the knees against one's chest: a cannonball dive.
moving at great speed: a train known as a cannonball express.

Origin of cannonball

First recorded in 1655–65; cannon + ball¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cannon-ball

Historical Examples of cannon-ball

In the act of presenting it, the lieutenant was carried off by a cannon-ball.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;
Various
How can a thought in the brain of man contract a set of muscles and lift a cannon-ball?
The Shadow World
Hamlin Garland
One of the towers had been knocked off, probably by a cannon-ball.
A Jolly Fellowship
Frank R. Stockton
Let us now fix our attention for a moment on the gunpowder which urges the cannon-ball.
Fragments of science, V. 1-2
John Tyndall
For certainly he could have used a ball at one end—a cannon-ball—and a mortar at the other.
Waiting for Daylight
Henry Major Tomlinson

British Dictionary definitions for cannon-ball

cannonball

noun

a projectile fired from a cannon: usually a solid round metal shot
tennis
1. a very fast low serve
2. (as modifier)a cannonball serve
a jump into water by a person who has his arms tucked into the body to form a ball

verb (intr)

(often foll by along, etc) to rush along, like a cannonball
to execute a cannonball jump

adjective

very fast or powerful

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 cannon-ball

also cannon ball, 1660s, from cannon (n.) + ball (n.1). As a type of dive, from 1905.