torpedo
Americannoun
-
torpedoes
plural
-
a self-propelled, cigar-shaped missile containing explosives and often equipped with a homing device, launched from a submarine or other warship, for destroying surface vessels or other submarines.
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any of various submarine explosive devices for destroying hostile ships, as a mine.
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a cartridge of gunpowder, dynamite, or the like, exploded in an oil well to facilitate the extraction of oil from the well.
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a detonating device fastened to the top of a rail so as to be exploded by the pressure of a locomotive or car, thus giving an audible signal to members of a train crew.
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any of various other explosive devices, as a firework that consists of an explosive wrapped up with gravel in a piece of tissue paper and that detonates when thrown forcibly on the ground or against a hard surface.
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Also called torpedo fish. an electric ray, especially Torpedo nobiliana, of the Atlantic Ocean.
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an electric catfish, Malapterurus electricus, inhabiting waters of tropical central Africa and the Nile valley.
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Informal. a hero sandwich.
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Slang. a gangster hired as a murderer.
verb (used with object)
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torpedoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
torpedoed,
past participle, past
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torpedoing
present participle
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to attack, hit, damage, or destroy with torpedoes.
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to explode a torpedo in (an oil well) to facilitate the extraction of oil.
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to undermine, ruin, or destroy.
He torpedoed our plans.
verb (used without object)
-
torpedoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
torpedoed,
past participle, past
-
torpedoing
present participle
noun
-
a cylindrical self-propelled weapon carrying explosives that is launched from aircraft, ships, or submarines and follows an underwater path to hit its target
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obsolete a submarine mine
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a firework containing gravel and a percussion cap that explodes when dashed against a hard surface
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a detonator placed on a railway line as a danger signal
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any of various electric rays of the genus Torpedo
verb
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to hit (a ship, etc) with one or a number of torpedoes
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to render ineffective; destroy or wreck
to torpedo the administration's plan
Regionalisms
See hero sandwich.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
torpedosimple
-
torpedoessimple
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have torpedoedperfect
-
has torpedoedperfect
-
am torpedoingprogressive
-
are torpedoingprogressive
-
is torpedoingprogressive
-
have been torpedoingperfect progressive
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has been torpedoingperfect progressive
Past
-
torpedoedsimple
-
had torpedoedperfect
-
was torpedoingprogressive
-
were torpedoingprogressive
-
had been torpedoingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of torpedo
1510–20; < Latin torpēdō numbness, torpidity, electric ray, equivalent to torpē ( re ) to be stiff ( see torpid 1) + -dō noun suffix
Explanation
A torpedo is a type of missile or bomb fired underwater. To torpedo is to attack with torpedoes. Torpedoes are cigar-shaped projectiles that are used to attack other submarines or boats. The word torpedo comes from the name of a kind of electric ray that numbs you with its sting (torpediniformes). Torpedoes can also be used to attack a target on land. When a submarine fires torpedoes, they're torpedoing the target. Torpedoes explode upon impact, and they're very powerful weapons.
Vocabulary lists containing torpedo
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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:
The torpedo, described as "heavyweight" by UK officials, is "designed to sink ships and deep diving submarines", Downing Street said.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
A veteran lawmaker who served 12 years in Congress, Bass has attempted to torpedo Raman’s image as a foe of the status quo, pointing out she’s been on the council for nearly six years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The courts would eventually toss Mr. Delrahim’s bogus case, but not before the delay helped torpedo AT&T’s business strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Plus: Worried that big IPOs will torpedo the stock market?
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
He strides up, barrel-chested and sure of himself, like a torpedo.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
UC-30 was carrying 18 mines and six torpedoes, leaving the submarine packed with explosives.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
The USS Joseph P. Kennedy — a Gearing-class destroyer once equipped with Mark 32 torpedoes, anti-submarine missiles, and nuclear depth charges — has been decorated for Christmas.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
But a whopping betrayal torpedoes the friendship—and Nora’s delusions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
The drone, capable of carrying payloads including torpedoes, is expected to reach production by the end of 2028.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
They’d watched cranes lowering torpedoes into their subs.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Even Moore acknowledged the flub that had torpedoed his team’s chances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Just five years ago, prolonged closures during the pandemic torpedoed foot traffic to malls that were already reeling from department-store closures and anxieties over the rise of online shopping.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
You’re also a gay actor portraying someone who, at the time, would have torpedoed his career by coming out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
Trade talks broke down between Canada and the US last month, with both sides accusing the other of last-minute demands that torpedoed a tentative agreement.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
He says the Allied forces pushed the Germans back in Paris, but my heart broke to learn of the Tuscania being torpedoed.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Perhaps the Rogers campaign is correct, and El-Sayed’s connection to the Twitch streamer will prove to be uniquely toxic, torpedoing his chances in the general.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
Indian strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney wrote on X that the US torpedoing of the Iranian warship in India's "maritime neighbourhood" was "more than a battlefield episode" - calling it a "strategic embarrassment" for Delhi.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
The conflict even reached the coast of Sri Lanka, where a US submarine sank an Iranian warship, Washington's first torpedoing of a vessel since World War II.
From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026
Whatever the origin story, the texts have been curated and released by both Jones and Lively, effectively torpedoing their adversaries in one fell swoop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2024
The Lusitania sailed on her last voyage May 1st, 1915, and a week later her torpedoing by a German U-boat was reported.
From Submarine Warfare of To-day How the Submarine Menace was Met and Vanquished, With Descriptions of the Inventions and Devices Used, Fast Boats, Mystery Ships by Charles W. (Charles William) Domville-Fife
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.
