Meaning & use

ballistic

adjective·Advanced

Relating to objects that are propelled forward and then move under the force of gravity alone.

See it in a sentence

Engineers studied the ballistic path of the rocket after launch.

A ballistic missile follows a curved trajectory back to earth.

A note on using this word

"Balistic" is a common misspelling of "ballistic," which has two l's; the informal idiom "go ballistic" means to become suddenly furious.

Words with a similar meaning

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