pro·jec·tile
prə-ˈjek-tᵊl 
-ˌtī(-ə)l
-ˌtī(-ə)l
chiefly British ˈprä-jik-ˌtī(-ə)l
1
: a body projected by external force and continuing in motion by its own inertia
especially
: a missile for a weapon (such as a firearm)
2
: a self-propelling weapon (such as a rocket)
1
: projecting or impelling forward
a projectile force
2
: capable of being thrust forward
Examples of projectile in a Sentence
Noun
The cannon fires a ten-pound projectile.
Someone threw a projectile at her car.
Recent Examples on the Web
Niha
masih, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024
He was struck with a non-lethal projectile and fell back on the ground, then sat up and fired at the officers.
—Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2024
On Friday, another Brockton magnet fisherman and YouTuber, Sean Martell, pulled out a military projectile from the same stretch of river.
—Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024
Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan reported that the teen was on foot at a car wash near a service station on 15 Mile Road when he was hit in the head by a projectile, possibly a tank, that shot out of the fire amid continuous explosions.
—Detroit Free Press, 5 Mar. 2024
Otero was compelled to investigate the source of the mystery projectile.
—Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Balloons, balls, Frisbees or any other projectiles.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
Still refusing their commands, Foster backed into the store and deputies deployed less lethal means including stun guns and foam projectile rounds.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2024
On December 17th, a projectile hit the children’s ward of Nasser.
—Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2024
Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023
There are projectile weapons, energy swords, missile launchers, shields, and more.
—Ash Parrish, The Verge, 25 July 2023
Jones, who also declined to comment for this article, has said his goal in suing the city and Bueno was not just to win a settlement for himself but to confront the lack of accountability within the department — particularly around the misuse of projectile weapons.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2023
Jones’ attorneys have said Bueno fired far more than other officers with projectile weapons, and that the true total is unknowable because his body-camera was turned off for much of the day.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2023
This is used to describe a player or hero that does damage without any projectile travel time.
—Dallas News, 3 May 2022
Many animals have projectile weapons: some ants can spray formic acid; the bombardier beetles can spew immobilising glue.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2011
Extremely curious how this arc melee enhancer will work if as expect, Hunters get a projectile arc melee for 3.0.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 11 July 2022
Along with the drone, police used an armored personnel carrier to approach the suspect, and then brandished both a military-style assault rifle and a projectile launcher that fires nonlethal rounds of hardened sponge.
—Joe Tash, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2022
Noun
In its overnight attack, Iran sent more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel but did not cause major damage or injuries because a U.S.-led coalition destroyed most of the projectiles.
—Niha
masih, Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2024
He was struck with a non-lethal projectile and fell back on the ground, then sat up and fired at the officers.
—Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2024
On Friday, another Brockton magnet fisherman and YouTuber, Sean Martell, pulled out a military projectile from the same stretch of river.
—Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024
Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan reported that the teen was on foot at a car wash near a service station on 15 Mile Road when he was hit in the head by a projectile, possibly a tank, that shot out of the fire amid continuous explosions.
—Detroit Free Press, 5 Mar. 2024
Otero was compelled to investigate the source of the mystery projectile.
—Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Balloons, balls, Frisbees or any other projectiles.
—Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
Still refusing their commands, Foster backed into the store and deputies deployed less lethal means including stun guns and foam projectile rounds.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2024
On December 17th, a projectile hit the children’s ward of Nasser.
—Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2024
Adjective
This, together with competition from H. sapiens, who likely possessed technologies like projectile weapons, likely contributed to these other human species going extinct.
—Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023
There are projectile weapons, energy swords, missile launchers, shields, and more.
—Ash Parrish, The Verge, 25 July 2023
Jones, who also declined to comment for this article, has said his goal in suing the city and Bueno was not just to win a settlement for himself but to confront the lack of accountability within the department — particularly around the misuse of projectile weapons.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2023
Jones’ attorneys have said Bueno fired far more than other officers with projectile weapons, and that the true total is unknowable because his body-camera was turned off for much of the day.
—Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2023
This is used to describe a player or hero that does damage without any projectile travel time.
—Dallas News, 3 May 2022
Many animals have projectile weapons: some ants can spray formic acid; the bombardier beetles can spew immobilising glue.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2011
Extremely curious how this arc melee enhancer will work if as expect, Hunters get a projectile arc melee for 3.0.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 11 July 2022
Along with the drone, police used an armored personnel carrier to approach the suspect, and then brandished both a military-style assault rifle and a projectile launcher that fires nonlethal rounds of hardened sponge.
—Joe Tash, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'projectile.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near projectile
Cite this Entry
“Projectile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/projectile. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share