catapult

American  

[kat-uh-puhlt, -poolt] / ˈkæt əˌpʌlt, -ˌpʊlt /

noun

• catapults
  plural

1. an ancient military engine for hurling stones, arrows, etc.

2. a device for launching an airplane from the deck of a ship.

3. British. a slingshot.

---

verb (used with object)

• catapults,
  present (3rd person singular)
• catapulted,
  past participle,  past
• catapulting
  present participle

1. to hurl from a catapult.

2. to thrust or move quickly or suddenly.

   His brilliant performance in the play catapulted him to stardom.

   Synonyms:

   shoot, pitch, propel, fling, throw

3. British.

   1. to hurl (a missile) from a slingshot.

   2. to hit (an object) with a missile from a slingshot.

verb (used without object)

• catapults,
  present (3rd person singular)
• catapulted,
  past participle,  past
• catapulting
  present participle

1. to be catapulted.

2. to move or spring up suddenly, quickly, or forcibly, as if by means of a catapult.

   The car catapulted down the highway. When he heard the alarm he catapulted out of bed.

catapult British  

/ ˈkætəˌpʌlt /

noun

1. US and Canadian name: slingshot. a Y-shaped implement with a loop of elastic fastened to the ends of the two prongs, used mainly by children for shooting small stones, etc

2. a heavy war engine used formerly for hurling stones, etc

3. a device installed in warships to launch aircraft

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verb

1. (tr) to shoot forth from or as if from a catapult

2. to move precipitately

   she was catapulted to stardom overnight

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• catapultic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• catapults
  plural

Participles

• catapulting
  present
• catapulted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• catapult
  simple
• catapults
  simple
• have catapulted
  perfect
• has catapulted
  perfect
• am catapulting
  progressive
• are catapulting
  progressive
• is catapulting
  progressive
• have been catapulting
  perfect progressive
• has been catapulting
  perfect progressive

Past

• catapulted
  simple
• had catapulted
  perfect
• was catapulting
  progressive
• were catapulting
  progressive
• had been catapulting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will catapult
  simple
• will have catapulted
  perfect
• will be catapulting
  progressive
• will have been catapulting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of catapult

1570–80; < Latin catapulta < Greek katapéltēs, equivalent to kata- cata- + péltēs hurler, akin to pállein to hurl

Explanation

A catapult is something that hurls things through the air, like a catapult that sends pumpkins flying in an annual Halloween competition. To pronounce catapult, accent the first syllable: "CAT a pult." Catapult can also be a verb that means "to hurl or shoot forward." It's not only objects that catapult. A hit single can catapult a band to great fame, for example, or a high score may catapult you into first place. Just don't catapult any cats. That would catapult you to notoriety, and probably also to jail.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

catapult catapults catapulted catapulting

A win could catapult USC into serious contention for the College Football Playoff.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Others, like “Obsession,” catapult from modest beginnings into an echelon of popularity that not even the academics and historians could’ve foreseen.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

It also makes Revolut the latest private company to catapult above $100 billion in value even as it eschews the public markets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

He was behind the effortless app design that made Robinhood irresistible to scores of rookie investors and helped catapult it into the S&P 500 last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

Leo shot skyward, like he’d been launched from a catapult.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

As of March, nearly 37,000 aircraft had been launched by Ford’s four electromagnetic catapults, according to Navy data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

"The ballista spider's snare is bioengineered to store elastic energy in the silk and rapidly release it, giving it incredible instantaneous power density -- greater than any other specialized silk-based biological catapults," said Professor Narendra.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026

"It's high-risk and high-reward. If it succeeds, of course, it catapults Pakistan to the top of the global diplomatic game."

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026

Beijing’s third and newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, is the first to be fully designed and built in China, and features electromagnetic catapults for launching aircraft.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025

Kyle stared at all the kids blasting through outer space, flinging catapults of fire at castle walls, or scuba diving with dolphins on the glowing game screens surrounding him.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

But the blowback has only catapulted in the era of social media, where millions of viewers from across the globe can drag award show hosts for filth in real time.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” the first of his plays to reach Broadway, catapulted the author’s playwriting career.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Salesforce catapulted 23% higher after the company said it was deepening its partnership with Anthropic, boosting investor confidence in its ability to integrate AI into its software.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

That market surge catapulted the California-based company into becoming the most valuable publicly traded company in the world, a perch it still holds ahead of iPhone-maker Apple.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

The dragon pitched sideways and catapulted Leo face-first into the sand.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

Senate before catapulting to executive power, though Mr. Vance has yet to shed the “vice” in his job title.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The paintings were a massive hit, catapulting Julian to a new echelon of fame, but isolating Christopher and ultimately driving him away, leaving the third and final series incomplete.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2026

The stock has risen 12% since, catapulting Amazon from the worst-performing “Magnificent Seven” name on a year-to-date basis to the fourth best.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2025

So Piastri's sharp cut-back led to his left-rear wheel colliding with Hulkenberg's right front, and catapulting the Australian into the air and then into his team-mate.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2025

Yes, in Mr. Lemoncello’s catapulting critters game, there were all sorts of wacky jokes.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• slingshot