ricochet
Americannoun
-
ricochets
plural
verb (used without object)
-
ricochets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ricocheted,
past participle, past
-
ricochetted,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
ricocheting,
present participle
-
ricochetting
present participle (especially British)
verb
noun
-
the motion or sound of a rebounding object, esp a bullet
-
an object, esp a bullet, that ricochets
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ricochetsimple
-
ricochetssimple
-
have ricochetedperfect
-
have ricochettedperfect
-
has ricochetedperfect
-
has ricochettedperfect
-
am ricochetingprogressive
-
am ricochettingprogressive
-
are ricochetingprogressive
-
are ricochettingprogressive
-
is ricochetingprogressive
-
is ricochettingprogressive
-
have been ricochetingperfect progressive
-
have been ricochettingperfect progressive
-
has been ricochetingperfect progressive
-
has been ricochettingperfect progressive
Past
-
ricochetedsimple
-
ricochettedsimple
-
had ricochetedperfect
-
had ricochettedperfect
-
was ricochetingprogressive
-
was ricochettingprogressive
-
were ricochetingprogressive
-
were ricochettingprogressive
-
had been ricochetingperfect progressive
-
had been ricochettingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ricochet
First recorded in 1760–70; from French; further origin uncertain
Explanation
A projectile that bounces off another surface is said to ricochet. You missed when you threw your crumpled paper at the wastepaper basket. Instead, the paper ricocheted off the wall and hit your brother on the head. The battle was on! As a noun, ricochet refers to the rebound or to the object that ricochets. If someone shoots a bullet and it ricochets off a tree, you can survive the initial gunfire only to be caught by the ricochet. The word ricochet is from the French word of the same spelling. Because of its French origin, the word is still pronounced with the soft French "shay" sound at the end — not a hard "T."
Vocabulary lists containing ricochet
Touching Spirit Bear
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The Skin I'm In
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Code Talker
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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:
Engineers said they were able to debunk some "myths", including that bullets can ricochet off the curve in the ballistic plate.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The unpleasant market metaphor refers to the idea that even a lifeless feline when dropped from a height may initially ricochet off the ground.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
The court ruling was the latest legal move to ricochet through the interoceanic waterway, which handles about 40 percent of US container traffic and five percent of world trade.
From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026
Their best hope is putting a body part in the way—and hoping a Capitals teammate isn’t there to redirect the ricochet into the net.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2025
During these five years of soldiering Adam did more detail work than any man in the squadron, but if he killed any enemy it was an accident of ricochet.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
"Is anyone alive in here?!" the voice of Moises Faramaya ricochets around the ruins of the same neighborhood.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
In her refusal to shy away from the grime and grit of Yuknavitch’s story, Stewart creates a startlingly raw atmosphere that ricochets between discordant and truly inspiring.
From Salon ● Jan. 1, 2026
The book ricochets back and forth in time, with such section headings as “Twelve Days Before the Robbery” and “Thirteen Years Earlier.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
Neat play down the right and a lovely reverse pass from Jordan Bowery sees Davis Keillor-Dunn burst into the box, but his shot ricochets up off U's keeper Owen Goodman.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2024
Any sound you make ricochets around, bouncing against all these different-shaped stone, mosaic and tiled surfaces.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
The Monroe appearance then ricocheted across the internet with the kind of viral intensity traditional late-night television has not generated in years.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
During Pages’ at-bat, a pitch ricocheted off Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe’s left hand.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 16, 2026
Video of the incident—played in court—had already ricocheted across the internet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
After pulling his tee shot towards the trees, Fitzpatrick's ball struck a cart path, ricocheted back on to the green, and was only prevented from trickling into the water by a well-positioned sprinkler head.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
It ricocheted off his gladius and blasted Percy off his horse.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Striking the water within twenty yards of its objective, the missile had ricochetted, and had shattered the torpedo-boat's foremost funnel.
From The Dispatch-Riders The Adventures of Two British Motor-cyclists in the Great War by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
Just as Anton Lundt emerged, a twenty-four pounder struck the water within a few yards of his back, but ricochetted exactly over his head, merely stunning him for a moment with the spray.
From Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 457 Volume 18, New Series, October 2, 1852 by William Chambers
The shot struck the water about sixty or seventy fathoms from the frigate, ricochetted, and appeared to pass over her, for presently we saw the water spout up again well to starboard of the vessel.
From The Log of a Privateersman by W. (William) Rainey
“It touched the roof, ricochetted off, and burst away behind.”
From With Rifle and Bayonet A Story of the Boer War by F. S. (Frederick Sadleir) Brereton
There was a loud pop, the cork struck against the ceiling, ricochetted around the walls of the room and caused a commotion by falling on Vinegar's bald head.
From The Ten-foot Chain or, Can Love Survive the Shackles? A Unique Symposium by Achmed Abdullah
Now, the template of how the team made a softer, affordable diaper is ricocheting across the $33 billion company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Their motion resembles a pinball ricocheting between stationary posts.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 17, 2025
Another defensive mess in the second half resulted in Dane Murray's attempted clearance ricocheting off Gabri Martinez and into the back of the net.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2025
The incident has fueled a storm of late-summer ridicule, with memes ricocheting across social media and commentators pointing to the almost slapstick nature of the scandal.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2025
My mother’s opinion of me kept ricocheting in my brain: selfish.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
He grinned affectionately upon her as with a dislocating jerk the cart started a ricochetting career down the street, with that abandon known only to butchers' carts.
From Mother by Kathleen Thompson Norris
They could hear it descending, not at a single drop, but striking and ricochetting from side to side.
From The Lone Ranche by Mayne Reid
These came down past us like cannon-balls, ricochetting by big bounds.
From Noto: an Unexplained Corner of Japan by Percival Lowell
The heavy ball struck the water a few yards ahead of the chase, and, ricochetting into the air, plunged into the sea a mile beyond it.
From The Coral Island A Tale of the Pacific Ocean by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
All around the sea was lacerated by the ricochetting projectiles, which threw columns of spray high into the air, the pure whiteness of the artificial waterspouts contrasting vividly with the dark background of smoke.
From Rounding up the Raider A Naval Story of the Great War by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
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.
