projectile

1 of 2

noun

pro·​jec·​tile prə-ˈjek-tᵊl  -ˌtī(-ə)l 

 chiefly British  ˈprä-jik-ˌtī(-ə)l

1

: a body projected by external force and continuing in motion by its own inertia

especially : a missile for a weapon (such as a firearm)

2

: a self-propelling weapon (such as a rocket)

projectile

2 of 2

adjective

1

: projecting or impelling forward

a projectile force

2

: capable of being thrust forward

Examples of projectile in a Sentence

Noun

The cannon fires a ten-pound projectile.

Someone threw a projectile at her car.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Instead of moving with strength or purpose, the suit is agile, lithe, and capable of sliding out of the way of green projectiles to trigger a slow down and gain access to more powerful attacks. —Kazuma Hashimoto, Rolling Stone, 31 Mar. 2025

The Israeli military later said one of the projectiles was intercepted and another fell inside Lebanese territory. —Euan Ward, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025

Adjective

Police badly wounded people with projectile weapons at the George Floyd protests and the Lakers’ NBA title celebration in L.A., spurring a mountain of lawsuits — which have cost taxpayers millions and still aren’t fully resolved. —Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2024

This, together with competition from H. sapiens, who likely possessed technologies like projectile weapons, likely contributed to these other human species going extinct. —Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1564, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1715, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing projectile

• projectile vomiting

Rhymes for projectile

• erectile
• anorectal
• colorectal
• dialectal
• rectal

Kids Definition

projectile

noun

pro·​jec·​tile

prə-ˈjek-tᵊl

: something (as a bullet or rocket) thrown or driven forward especially from or for use as a weapon