missile
A powerful weapon that flies through the air by itself and is used to hit a target far away, often in war.
A weapon that carries an explosive warhead and is powered and usually guided through the air to hit a target at a distance.
An object that someone throws or sends through the air to hit a person or thing, for example a stone or a bottle.
An object, such as a stone or bottle, that is thrown or otherwise projected at a person, animal, or thing in order to hit it.
- Base: missile
- Plural: missiles
cruise missile
1low-flying guided precision missile
A military missile that is guided, flies low to the ground, and is designed to hit a target very accurately.
- Several cruise missiles hit military sites near the coast.
- They watched video of a cruise missile flying just above the trees.
guided missile
4missile with in-flight guidance
A missile that has a system to control its direction during flight so it can move toward a chosen target.
- Modern guided missiles can change direction in mid-air.
- The ship was hit by a guided missile launched from the shore.
missile defense
3systems to stop incoming missiles
Weapons and technology used to find and destroy enemy missiles before they can hit their targets.
- They invested heavily in missile defense to protect major cities.
- New missile defense systems were tested in the desert.
surface-to-air missile
2ground-launched missile against aircraft
A missile that is fired from the ground or from a ship to hit an airplane or another missile in the sky.
- The jet was brought down by a surface-to-air missile.
- Soldiers set up surface-to-air missiles around the airbase.
ballistic missile
1missile following a ballistic path
A powerful weapon that is shot into the air and then falls toward its target in a high curve, mainly under the force of gravity.
- The treaty limits the number of long-range ballistic missiles each country can have.
- The country tested a new ballistic missile capable of reaching the mainland.
- News reports showed the launch of a new ballistic missile from the test site.
- Talks focused on limiting the number of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.