torpedo
Americannoun
plural
torpedoes-
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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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)
noun
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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
- torpedo-like adjective
- torpedolike adjective
- untorpedoed adjective
Etymology
Origin of torpedo
1510–20; < Latin torpēdō numbness, torpidity, electric ray, equivalent to torpē ( re ) to be stiff ( torpid 1 ) + -dō noun suffix
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.
“But we didn’t know whether it’s a torpedo or air attack.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
“The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II. Like in that war back when we were still the War Department, we are fighting to win.”
From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026
A European military source specialising in submarines and speaking on condition of anonymity explained that a torpedo explodes underneath a ship rather than upon contact with it.
From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026
Did I realize that I was about to torpedo my political career?
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026
And sure enough, because the pipe was made of glass, Augustus Gloop could be clearly seen shooting up inside it, head first, like a torpedo.
From "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
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.
