ricochet
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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
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ricochetssimple
-
have ricochetedperfect
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have ricochettedperfect
-
has ricochetedperfect
-
has ricochettedperfect
-
am ricochetingprogressive
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am ricochettingprogressive
-
are ricochetingprogressive
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are ricochettingprogressive
-
is ricochetingprogressive
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is ricochettingprogressive
-
have been ricochetingperfect progressive
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have been ricochettingperfect progressive
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has been ricochetingperfect progressive
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has been ricochettingperfect progressive
Past
-
ricochetedsimple
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ricochettedsimple
-
had ricochetedperfect
-
had ricochettedperfect
-
was ricochetingprogressive
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was ricochettingprogressive
-
were ricochetingprogressive
-
were ricochettingprogressive
-
had been ricochetingperfect progressive
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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
Every projectile that hit him seemed to ricochet harmlessly off his mech’s armored body.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
"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
Even if their shots don’t go in, the traffic in front of the goal leads to more tips, ricochets and general chaos in the tight areas around Winnipeg’s goal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2025
She ricochets around from store to store, coupons in hand, seeking bargains as if on a treasure hunt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2024
When my head comes into sight, a gasp ricochets through the living room.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
The firm’s unraveling ricocheted across the financial world, especially on now-defunct Swiss bank Credit Suisse, which had sold loans by the firm to its clients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
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
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
Reaves chucked up a line drive that ricocheted off the front of the rim and toward his left.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026
She ricocheted off the wall and collapsed like a ton of bricks.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
It struck the water, and ricochetted not three yards off.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 83, September, 1864 by Various
The bits of ice flew up smartly, and the ball must have ricochetted; for we saw the ice fly up again quite near the bear, and then at another point beyond him.
From Left on Labrador or, The cruise of the Schooner-yacht 'Curlew.' as Recorded by 'Wash.' by Stephens, C. A. (Charles Asbury)
At intervals the wind came laden with fine snow or jagged crystalline icicles which ricochetted from the rocks like things of life.
From Wild Spain (Espa?a agreste) Records of Sport with Rifle, Rod, and Gun, Natural History Exploration by Buck, Walter J.
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 Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)
The missile passed a few feet in front of the tramp's bows, and, throwing up a shower of spray that burst inboard on the British vessel's fo'c'sle, ricochetted a mile or so away.
From The Submarine Hunters A Story of the Naval Patrol Work in the Great War by Hodgson, Edward S.
Because helium’s industrial uses are so broad, shortages are ricocheting through multiple sectors and countries at once.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
Here, Smith shows off his footballing skills to stop the ball from ricocheting on to the stumps during the Lord's Test.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025
They hugged one another and recounted slightly discombobulated stories of bullets ricocheting off cellphones and even someone’s teeth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2025
Their motion resembles a pinball ricocheting between stationary posts.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 17, 2025
His last words—chance to—bounced around the clearing before ricocheting off into the trees.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
They could hear it descending, not at a single drop, but striking and ricochetting from side to side.
From The Lone Ranche by Reid, Mayne
Just as we were turning the face of Screen cliff a sound of singing reached us, ricochetting over the water.
From Noto: an Unexplained Corner of Japan by Lowell, Percival
There was a sharp crack from the shore; something whistled past Lydia's head, struck an upright post, splintering the edge, and with a whine went ricochetting into the sea.
From The Angel of Terror by Wallace, Edgar
Down, leaping, ricochetting, thundering, hurtled a great boulder, spurning the cliff-face with a tremendous uproar.
From Darkness and Dawn by England, George Allan
The balls went skipping along after striking the ground a hundred yards or so beyond the enemy’s battery, and, ricochetting, darted right for the solid moving mass of men.
From The Young Castellan A Tale of the English Civil War by Fenn, George Manville
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.
