slingshot
noun
sling·shot
ˈsliŋ-ˌshät 
1
: a forked stick with an elastic band attached for shooting small stones
2
a
: a maneuver in auto racing in which a drafting car accelerates past the car in front by taking advantage of reserve power
b
: a dragster in which the driver sits behind the rear wheels
Examples of slingshot in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Every ten spaces or so is one that calls for a skill-testing competition between two teams—tug-of-war, a sack race, racing on stilts or targeting giant wooden geese by slingshot.
—
John Last, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Dec. 2024
Meanwhile, Voyager 1 used Saturn as a gravitational slingshot to power itself past Pluto.
—Greg Wehner, Fox News, 31 Oct. 2024
This speed suggests that the system’s star might be a hypervelocity star, an example of a rare class of stellar objects that have been sped up by past encounters with other stars—or even a gravitational slingshot from the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 30 Oct. 2024
The journey will take some 1.8 billion miles on a trajectory, taking it past Mars and then Earth, using the planet's gravity as a slingshot to then add speed for the track.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for slingshot 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
John Last, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Dec. 2024
Meanwhile, Voyager 1 used Saturn as a gravitational slingshot to power itself past Pluto.
—Greg Wehner, Fox News, 31 Oct. 2024
This speed suggests that the system’s star might be a hypervelocity star, an example of a rare class of stellar objects that have been sped up by past encounters with other stars—or even a gravitational slingshot from the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 30 Oct. 2024
The journey will take some 1.8 billion miles on a trajectory, taking it past Mars and then Earth, using the planet's gravity as a slingshot to then add speed for the track.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for slingshot
Dictionary Entries Near slingshot
Cite this Entry
“Slingshot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slingshot. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
slingshot
noun
sling·shot
ˈsliŋ-ˌshät
: a forked stick with an elastic band attached for shooting small stones
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share