cruise missile

noun

: a guided missile that has a terrain-following radar system and that flies at moderate speed and low altitude

Examples of cruise missile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The cruise missiles deployed by Navy warplanes can fly more than twice as far. Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025 Before 2022, Moscow had nearly 60 of these Cold War-era warplanes, designed to carry cruise missiles and nuclear warheads. Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025 Serial numbers on the fragments correspond to a contract for Tomahawk cruise missiles, an AP examination of the imagery showed. Jon Gambrell, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2025 Most of the damage Russia inflicts on Ukraine, however, is caused by cruise missiles that can be intercepted with European arms, such as SAMP/T and IRIS-T missiles, and most Russian ballistic missile strikes are against targets that are not defended by Patriots. Jack Watling, Foreign Affairs, 24 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cruise missile

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cruise missile was in 1959

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Cite this Entry

“Cruise missile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cruise%20missile. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.

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