hypersonic
Americanadjective
adjective
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Relating to or capable of speeds equal to or exceeding five times the speed of sound (Mach 5 and above).
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Compare subsonic supersonic transonic
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hypersonic
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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.
Among the weapons Russia used at the weekend was its Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which can travel 10 times the speed of sound and is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, according to Moscow.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
Like hypersonic travel, Fleming says, these trips at first will be accessible only to the ultrawealthy, but by the 2040s, as launch costs fall, that market could expand modestly.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Officials point to the announcement by Germany and the U.K. last month of a joint project to develop stealthy cruise missiles and hypersonic weapons as an example of the new initiative.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
Aerospace startup Hermeus is moving its headquarters to El Segundo from Atlanta as it aims to build autonomous hypersonic aircraft for the military, the latest sign of revival in the region’s aerospace and defense sectors.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
But even with the errors, the machines processed the transonic, supersonic, and hypersonic flows and trajectory analyses in a way that surpassed the upper limits of human ability.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
