cannonball

1 of 2

noun

can·​non·​ball ˈka-nən-ˌbȯl 

1

: a usually round solid missile made for firing from a cannon

2

: a jump into water made with the arms holding the knees tight against the chest

3

: a hard flat tennis service

4

: an express train

cannonball

2 of 2

verb

cannonballed; cannonballing; cannonballs

intransitive verb

: to travel with great speed

Synonyms

Verb

• barrel
• belt
• blast
• blaze
• blow
• bolt
• bomb [slang]
• bowl
• breeze
• bundle
• bustle
• buzz
• careen
• career
• chase
• course
• crack (on)
• dash
• drive
• fly
• hare
• hasten
• hie
• highball
• hotfoot (it)
• hump
• hurl
• hurry
• hurtle
• hustle
• jet
• jump
• motor
• nip
• pelt
• race
• ram
• rip
• rocket
• run
• rush
• rustle
• scoot
• scurry
• scuttle
• shoot
• speed
• step
• tear
• travel
• trot
• whirl
• whisk
• zip
• zoom

Examples of cannonball in a Sentence

Verb

a dune buggy came recklessly cannonballing down the crowded beach

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Celestial cannonball galaxy Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of spiral galaxy IC 3225, which appears to be streaking though space like a cannonball, stretching its arms of stars out behind it in its wake. —Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024

Each layer comes wrapped for shipping in a solid hunk of latex that feels like a cannonball. —Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 2 Nov. 2024

Verb

Ari Daniel Shapiro: Franklin would leap from the aircraft and just cannonball through the air. —IEEE Spectrum, 1 June 2012

Made from a nylon and elastane blend, there is enough comfort and support to cannonball into your favorite lake. —Erinne Magee, Travel + Leisure, 17 May 2023

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1899, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cannonball

noun

can·​non·​ball

ˈkan-ən-ˌbȯl

: a usually round solid missile for firing from a cannon