cannonball
Americannoun
adjective
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made from a curled-up position with the arms pressing the knees against one's chest.
a cannonball dive.
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moving at great speed.
a train known as a cannonball express.
noun
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a projectile fired from a cannon: usually a solid round metal shot
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tennis
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a very fast low serve
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( as modifier )
a cannonball serve
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a jump into water by a person who has his arms tucked into the body to form a ball
verb
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to rush along, like a cannonball
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to execute a cannonball jump
adjective
Etymology
Origin of cannonball
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.
“We need to have the basic things,” said Biniam Girmay, a high-speed cannonball from Eritrea who in 2024 won three sprint stages at the Tour de France.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025
Of all the dirty, rotten, down-low things Netflix has done, providing a gaping pit of gold coins for Adam Sandler to cannonball into like Scrooge McDuck might be the worst so far.
From Salon • Jul. 27, 2025
Last week Collins had talked about a funny memory with the Wolverines, how Harbaugh finished a spring practice by doing a cannonball off the high dive at the school’s pool.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2025
The British wanted to seize the ship and its treasure, but fired a cannonball into the San José’s powder magazines by mistake.
From BBC • Oct. 2, 2024
A ball of water shot out of the river like a cannonball, and just before it hit Sigurd, it crunched into ice.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
