ballistic

adjective

bal·​lis·​tic bə-ˈli-stik How to pronounce ballistic (audio)
1
: extremely and usually suddenly excited, upset, or angry : wild
He went ballistic when he saw the dent in his car.
and the crowd goes ballistic
2
: of or relating to the science of the motion of projectiles in flight
3
exercise : being or characterized by repeated bouncing
ballistic stretching
4
physics, of an object in motion : behaving like a projectile
But the Bell Labs switch uses such a low current that the few ballistic electrons are a distance of a micrometer or more apart …Robert Pool
5
of a material : capable of resisting or stopping bullets or other projectiles
ballistic glass
ballistic nylon
… engineered specifically to be worn under ballistic vests and shirts.K. M. Reese
ballistically adverb

Examples of ballistic in a Sentence

she went ballistic when she discovered her brother reading her e-mail
Recent Examples on the Web Made from ballistic nylon and polyester tarpaulin, it’s designed for the long haul and solid backcountry beat-ups. Ryan Krogh, Outside Online, 16 Oct. 2024 In March, Russia used its veto power at the United Nations to end monitoring for violations of a ban on North Korea testing ballistic technology. Morgan Phillips, Fox News, 9 Oct. 2024 But Iran carried out that attack largely with slower-moving drones, which were much easier intercepts for the fighter jets than the ballistic warheads falling vertically on targets in Israel. Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN, 2 Oct. 2024 By many accounts, the previous Iranian attack against Israel on April 13 – which consisted of over 300 ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones – caused very little damage to Israel. Aaron Pilkington, The Conversation, 4 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ballistic 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ballistic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin ballisticus "relating to the motion of projectiles in flight," from Latin ballista ballista + New Latin -icus -ic entry 1

Note: The Latin word was apparently introduced by the French priest and polymath Marin Mersenne (1588-1648) in Ballistica et acontismologia, a section (with separate title page) of his Cogitata physico-mathematica (Paris, 1644).

First Known Use

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of ballistic was in 1764

Dictionary Entries Near ballistic

Cite this Entry

“Ballistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballistic. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

ballistic

adjective
bal·​lis·​tic bə-ˈlis-tik How to pronounce ballistic (audio)
: of or relating to ballistics

More from Merriam-Webster on ballistic

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