catapult
Americannoun
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an ancient military engine for hurling stones, arrows, etc.
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a device for launching an airplane from the deck of a ship.
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British. a slingshot.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to be catapulted.
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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.
noun
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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
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a heavy war engine used formerly for hurling stones, etc
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a device installed in warships to launch aircraft
verb
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(tr) to shoot forth from or as if from a catapult
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to move precipitately
she was catapulted to stardom overnight
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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catapultsimple
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catapultssimple
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have catapultedperfect
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has catapultedperfect
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am catapultingprogressive
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are catapultingprogressive
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is catapultingprogressive
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have been catapultingperfect progressive
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has been catapultingperfect progressive
Past
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catapultedsimple
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had catapultedperfect
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was catapultingprogressive
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were catapultingprogressive
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had been catapultingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing catapult
Break It Down: Cata
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Latin Love, Vol II: cadere
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Ancient Rome - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
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
Charged particles of solar wind constantly catapult toward Earth, but most get deflected by the magnetosphere, which acts like a real-life Star Trek shield.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
There’s no Betty Buckley in the cast to catapult “Memory,” the show’s indelible power ballad, to the Heaviside Layer, the land of rebirth for one lucky chosen cat.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Musk plans to create a “self-growing city” on the moon and catapult satellites into orbit from the lunar surface.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 31, 2026
The catapult arm sprang upward faster than Nico’s eye could follow, launching Octavian along with the ammunition.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
"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
At the end, they are rewarded with a jump that catapults skiers 150 feet in the air.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
"Stranger Things definitely needs to switch off its boombox, hang up its catapults and admit it's too old for these capers, but it's worth indulging it one last time," Seale wrote.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
Two artillery crews had set up catapults just outside the Pomerian Line and were preparing to fire at the Argo II. “That’ll just make things worse,” Annabeth said.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
That personal tie has catapulted Schroyer, a relative unknown in national law-enforcement circles, to one of the biggest jobs in the country: heading ICE.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Football—the other kind—fit for Independence Day: The U.S., fresh off a win that catapulted them into the World Cup’s round of 16, won’t play again until Monday.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
However, excitement around Marvell’s networking products is what has catapulted the stock 284% over the past 12 months.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
The movie catapulted Reese Witherspoon into the Hollywood A-list crowd, and, while she doesn't star in the revival, she is an executive producer.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Loo ignored her hand and instead catapulted himself off toward the beach and ran ahead.
From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder
Meta Platforms is reportedly exploring a new avenue of artificial-intelligence monetization, raising questions about whether Meta is throwing in the towel on being a leading AI lab or, rather, catapulting its business ahead.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
They released a quick succession of albums — “Caught in the Act,” “Movin’ On” and “Hot on the Tracks” — catapulting the band to mainstream success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 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
Many had said the fad would soon fade, casting doubt on the logic of Pop Mart’s share price catapulting above that of heavyweights like Alibaba.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
It was a lovely sensation, one the agent had always appreciated, catapulting from the twisty dark gorge onto that flatland, with a straight highway aiming exactly north.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
