torpedo
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.
any of various submarine explosive devices for destroying hostile ships, as a mine.
a cartridge of gunpowder, dynamite, or the like, exploded in an oil well to facilitate the extraction of oil from the well.
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.
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.
Also called torpedo fish . an electric ray, especially Torpedo nobiliana, of the Atlantic Ocean.
an electric catfish, Malapterurus electricus, inhabiting waters of tropical central Africa and the Nile valley.
Informal. a hero sandwich.
Slang. a gangster hired as a murderer.
to attack, hit, damage, or destroy with torpedoes.
to explode a torpedo in (an oil well) to facilitate the extraction of oil.
to undermine, ruin, or destroy: He torpedoed our plans.
to attack, damage, or sink a ship with torpedoes.
Origin of torpedo
1regional variation note For torpedo
Other words from torpedo
- tor·pe·do·like, adjective
- un·tor·pe·doed, adjective
Words Nearby torpedo
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use torpedo in a sentence
Someday in the future, the latest anti-submarine weapon could arrive in the form of a torpedo deployed from a large drone.
This heavy-lift drone could quietly carry a sub-hunting torpedo | Kelsey D. Atherton | September 22, 2021 | Popular-ScienceWith a vertical leap exceeding 40 inches, a Dressel Start is not unlike a torpedo launch.
Caeleb Dressel Isn’t Just The Next Michael Phelps. He Might Be Even Better. | Josh Planos | July 23, 2021 | FiveThirtyEightUsing torpedo technology, they were used to quickly transport people and supplies.
Best underwater scooter for safe and fun aquatic adventures | Irena Collaku | July 21, 2021 | Popular-ScienceVictor Vescovo, also saw two large gun turrets, twin torpedo racks and multiple gun mounts.
Wreckage of long-lost WW II ship, sunken with its Native American skipper and half its crew, identified | Michael Ruane | April 2, 2021 | Washington PostWhen he found out about the potential ban, it was a torpedo to his plans.
TikTok made him famous. Now he’s imagining a world without it | Abby Ohlheiser | August 14, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
The sub was so quiet, that it consistently managed to get within easy torpedo range.
This device, looking rather like a bloated torpedo, is equipped with lights and cameras that scan the seabed for debris.
Will sanctions already in effect continue to torpedo the Iranian economy, or will sanctions begin to crumble?
P5+1 Talks Drill Down On The Future Of Iran’s Nukes | Michael Adler | February 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey torpedo the Affordable Care Act, and I believe we will now have single payer in this country within the next 15 years.
Single Payer Is Getting a Second Life as Obamacare Frustration Peaks | David Freedlander | December 10, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTDuring a night operation in the Solomon Islands in 1943, the patrol torpedo boat he commanded was rammed by a Japanese destroyer.
Three Great Men Died That Day: JFK, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley | John Garth | November 3, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe bear laughed and joined his companion, and the torpedo thundered away.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeFor he knew who had triggered those three today, who the Chi torpedo the cops wanted was.
The Maine was sunk by a torpedo, discharged at close quarters underneath her magazine.
The Double Four | E. Phillips OppenheimThere isn't a single square yard of that whole belt but is equipped with a torpedo.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Complete | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)He now tried to fasten the torpedo to the bottom, but the screw struck an iron bar and would not go in.
Stories of Our Naval Heroes | Various
British Dictionary definitions for torpedo
/ (tɔːˈpiːdəʊ) /
a cylindrical self-propelled weapon carrying explosives that is launched from aircraft, ships, or submarines and follows an underwater path to hit its target
obsolete a submarine mine
US and Canadian a firework containing gravel and a percussion cap that explodes when dashed against a hard surface
US and Canadian a detonator placed on a railway line as a danger signal
any of various electric rays of the genus Torpedo
to hit (a ship, etc) with one or a number of torpedoes
to render ineffective; destroy or wreck: to torpedo the administration's plan
Origin of torpedo
1Derived forms of torpedo
- torpedo-like, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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