missile
Americannoun
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an object or weapon for throwing, hurling, or shooting, as a stone, bullet, or arrow.
adjective
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capable of being thrown, hurled, or shot, as from the hand or a gun.
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used or designed for discharging missiles.
noun
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any object or weapon that is thrown at a target or shot from an engine, gun, etc
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a rocket-propelled weapon that flies either in a fixed trajectory (ballistic missile) or in a trajectory that can be controlled during flight (guided missile)
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( as modifier )
a missile carrier
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Etymology
Origin of missile
1600–10; < Latin, neuter of missilis, equivalent to miss ( us ) (past participle of mittere to send, throw) + -ilis -ile
Explanation
A missile is an object that can be projected toward a target. Examples include a spitball shot through a straw, a poison-tipped arrow sent via bow, or a self-propelled heat-seeking rocket, designed to take out targets at long range. When you learn about the Cuban Missile Crisis in history, the missiles in question were guided rockets loaded with nuclear warheads, supplied to the Cubans by the Soviet Union. A missile defense strategy is one where you send up defensive missile to blow up your enemy's offensive ones before they can reach you.
Vocabulary lists containing missile
Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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Central America and the Caribbean - Introductory
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Central America and the Caribbean - Middle School and High School
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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 valuable hardware damaged were three state-of-the-art anti-ballistic missile batteries systems at the Al Ruwais and Al Sader airbases in the UAE and Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Jordan.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
Toward the end of the drill, the Marines launched a Stinger missile.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
“Every day seems to bring another cease-fire rumor, another missile headline, another draft memorandum, another denial, and another market reversal.”
From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026
North Korea is subject to multiple United Nations sanctions banning its nuclear weapons development and use of ballistic missile technology, restrictions it has repeatedly flouted.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
He went to various army missile schools and intelligence schools and communications schools.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
