torpedo

1 of 2

noun

tor·​pe·​do tȯr-ˈpē-(ˌ)dō 

plural torpedoes

1

: a weapon for destroying ships by rupturing their hulls below the waterline: such as

a

: a submarine mine

b

: a thin cylindrical self-propelled underwater projectile

2

: a small firework that explodes when thrown against a hard object

3

: electric ray

4

: a professional gunman or assassin

5

: submarine entry 2 sense 2

torpedo

2 of 2

verb

torpedoed; torpedoing tȯr-ˈpē-də-wiŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to hit or sink (a ship) with a naval torpedo : strike or destroy by torpedo

2

: to destroy or nullify altogether : wreck

torpedo a plan

Did you know?

Torpedo comes to English by way of Latin torpēdō, which has two quite different meanings. It refers to a state of inertness, sluggishness, or lethargy, and it refers to a creature also known as the electric ray. When English speakers borrowed the Latin word, it was to apply it with this second meaning; in early 16th century English torpedo referred to those round-bodied short-tailed rays that are naturally equipped with a pair of electric organs. (The ancient Greeks reportedly used electric rays to numb the pain of surgery and childbirth.) The most familiar use of torpedo today, referring specifically to the cylindrical underwater naval weapon, dates to the 1866 development of the self-propelled torpedo by British engineer Robert Whitehead—but that use built on a century-old employment of torpedo in referring to another invention. In 1776 a small submersible vessel developed by American inventor David Bushnell was used (unsuccessfully) in an assault on a British ship in New York harbor. Bushnell was reported to have named the vessel “American Turtle or Torpedo.” He didn’t stick with the appellation, but it likely informed Robert Fulton’s use of torpedo for his own underwater explosive devices in the early 19th century, and it laid the groundwork for the word’s application to Whitehead’s torpedo.

Synonyms

Noun

• Cuban sandwich
• grinder
• hero
• hoagie
• hoagy
• Italian sandwich
• po'boy
• poor boy
• sub
• submarine

Examples of torpedo in a Sentence

Noun

The battleship was sunk by a torpedo fired by a submarine.

that deli's torpedoes are big enough to serve two people

Verb

The submarine torpedoed the battleship.

Her injury torpedoed her goal of competing in the Olympics.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This is a function of the inherent difficulty of defending against incoming ballistic missiles traveling at several times the speed of sound, not to mention dealing with stealthy cruise missiles and underwater torpedoes. —Elbridge Colby, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2018

One of the Northern Fleet’s submarines had sunk, in 1989, and hadn’t been salvaged; its reactor lay at the bottom of the Norwegian Sea, along with two torpedoes with nuclear warheads, corroding in salt water. —Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024

Verb

Catch up quick: Republicans wrested control of Hillsborough County from Democrats in 2022 and have leveraged that power to torpedo Pride commendations, slash affordable housing programs and more. —Yacob Reyes, Axios, 1 Nov. 2024

In 2010, the Center for Immigration Studies helped torpedo the DREAM Act, forestalling the possibility that Congress might protect young people brought to the United States as children. —Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, 19 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Latin torpēdō "state of inertness, sluggishness, lethargy, the electric ray Torpedo marmorata or related species," from torpēre "to be numb, lack sensation, be struck motionless, be sluggish or lethargic" + -din-, -dō, suffix of state — more at torpid

Note: The n-stem suffix -din-, -dō is presumed to have been originally applied to stative verbs such as torpēre. It is directly comparable to the suffix in Greek algedon-, algedṓn "pain, suffering," derived from algéō, algeîn "to feel pain." In Latin the -ē- of the verb was taken as part of the suffix, which was then applied directly to adjectives, the resulting nouns often denoting undesirable or unpleasant states (as gravēdō "head cold, oppressive feeling," dulcēdō "sweetness, pleasantness, itch, irritation," putrēdō "rottenness"; compare as later formations albedo, flavedo). — The application of the word torpedo "electric ray" to submarine warfare dates to the early years of the American Revolution. The Pennsylvania-born inventor David Bushnell (1740-1824 or 26) developed a small submersible vessel in 1776, which was used in an unsuccessful assault on a British ship in New York harbor on September 7th of that year. The physician James Thacher recorded this event in his journal for October: "By some gentlemen from head-quarters, near New York, we are amused with an account of a singular machine, invented by a Mr. D. Bushnell of Connecticut, for the purpose of destroying the British shipping by explosion …Mr. Bushnell gave to his machine the name of American Turtle or Torpedo" (Military Journal of the American Revolution, [Hartford, CT, 1862], pp. 62-63). Bushnell appears to have given the name "torpedo" to his submarine, rather than solely to the time-detonated powder magazine that was meant to be screwed into the hull of a ship below the waterline. In a description of the boat and powder magazine sent in a letter to Thomas Jefferson in October, 1787, Bushnell used neither "turtle" nor "torpedo." (The letter was published as "General Principles and Construction of a Sub-marine Vessel" in Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 4 [1799], pp. 303-12.) In 1777 Bushnell experimented with floating mines—powder kegs set off by a spring-released flintlock—but these too failed to damage a British vessel. Probably not unconnected to Bushnell's "torpedo," the same word was used by Robert fulton in the early nineteenth century to refer to underwater explosive devices of his own design, in letters and a pamphlet Torpedo War, and Submarine Explosions (New York, 1810); Fulton believed that submarine mines, his "torpedoes," would effectually end aggressive naval warfare and ensure freedom of the seas. With the development of the self-propelled torpedo by the British engineer Robert Whitehead in 1866, the word torpedo began to be applied solely to such devices, with submarine mine or a similar term reserved for stationary explosive devices.

Verb

derivative of torpedo entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1520, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb

circa 1879, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing torpedo

• bangalore torpedo
• motor torpedo boat
• torpedo boat
• torpedo bomber
• torpedo tube

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

torpedo

1 of 2 noun

tor·​pe·​do tȯr-ˈpēd-ō 

plural torpedoes

1

: a thin cylindrical self-propelled submarine weapon

2

: a small firework that explodes when thrown against a hard object

torpedo

2 of 2 verb

torpedoed; doing

tȯr-ˈpēd-ə-wiŋ

: to hit or sink with or as if with a torpedo

Etymology

Noun

from Latin torpedo, literally "numbness," from torpēre "to be numb" — related to torpid

Word Origin

The Latin verb torpēre, meaning "to be numb," gave rise to the noun torpedo, "numbness." This noun was borrowed into English in the 16th century to refer to a long round fish that gave a numbing electric shock to anyone who touched it. This fish was also called an electric ray, a crampfish, or a numbfish. In the early 19th century, the American inventor Robert Fulton developed a floating device that exploded when it touched a ship. He called this device a torpedo because it reminded him of the electric ray. Since then the torpedo has been modernized and is fired at its target. Although it still looks somewhat like the fish, its effects can certainly be more than numbing.