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
Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2024
Part of Hezbollah’s advantage lays in the lack of necessary preparation to launch such an attack, as displayed on Thursday as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that 25 projectiles had been launched from Hezbollah (but resulted in no injuries).
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 8 Aug. 2024
Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for projectile 
Noun
In recent years, Jordan students and staff have complained that school grounds have been pelted with metal projectiles and coated with metallic dust due to Atlas’ operations.
—Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2024
Part of Hezbollah’s advantage lays in the lack of necessary preparation to launch such an attack, as displayed on Thursday as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that 25 projectiles had been launched from Hezbollah (but resulted in no injuries).
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 8 Aug. 2024
Adjective
Police badly wounded people with projectile weapons at the George Floyd protests and the Lakers’ NBA title celebration in L.A., spurring a mountain of lawsuits — which have cost taxpayers millions and still aren’t fully resolved.
—Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 24 July 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for projectile
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 19 Aug. 2024.
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