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
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
Weekends bring laser tag (weather permitting) and an apple slingshot.
—Melissa Santos, Axios, 9 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for slingshot 
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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
Weekends bring laser tag (weather permitting) and an apple slingshot.
—Melissa Santos, Axios, 9 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 21 Nov. 2024.
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slingshot
noun
sling·shot
ˈsliŋ-ˌshät
: a forked stick with an elastic band attached for shooting small stones
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