projectile

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   An object that is thrown, shot, or fired through the air, especially as a weapon.

   Grammar: Countable; can be used in military or physics contexts.

   Patterns

   • fire a projectile
   • launch a projectile
   • a projectile hits something

   The soldiers fired projectiles at the enemy tanks.

   The cannon launched a heavy projectile over the wall.

   Police used rubber projectiles to disperse the crowd.

2. 2adjectivebefore a nountechnical

   Relating to or resembling an object that is thrown or fired with great force.

   Grammar: Used before a noun, often in technical or medical phrases.

   Patterns

   • projectile motion
   • projectile vomiting

   In physics, we studied projectile motion in the lab.

   The illness can cause projectile vomiting, which is a medical emergency.

   The projectile force of the explosion shattered windows nearby.

Word forms

Common combinations

projectile motion

The trajectory of a ball thrown in the air is an example of projectile motion.

fire a projectile

The tank fired a projectile that destroyed the building.

projectile weapon

A bow and arrow is a simple projectile weapon.

projectile vomiting

Projectile vomiting is a symptom that requires immediate medical attention.

Synonyms and how they differ

missile

A missile is a self-propelled or guided weapon, while a projectile is any object thrown or fired, not necessarily guided.

bullet

A bullet is a specific type of small projectile fired from a gun; projectile is a broader term.

shell

A shell is a heavy projectile fired from artillery, whereas projectile can refer to any thrown or fired object.

Word family

project verb

To throw forward or cause to move forward, as in 'project an image'.

projection noun

The act of projecting or something that sticks out.

Commonly confused: projectile or projector?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “projectile”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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