missile

missile — noun

1. A weapon that propels itself through the sky by its own power, guided to an exac

1.nounB1
Definition

A weapon that propels itself through the sky by its own power, guided to an exact location where it explodes on impact.

Example

The air force launched a missile from a fighter plane during the night exercise.

launch a missile — firing from an aircraft or base

Hui read that a missile had struck a market in the city centre.

Common collocations
  • guided missile
  • ballistic missile
  • cruise missile
  • nuclear missile
  • long-range missile
  • surface-to-air missile
Synonyms
  • rocket

    a rocket is a vehicle powered by an engine; not all rockets are missiles, and not all missiles are rockets — a missile is designed as a weapon

  • projectile

    more general; any object fired through the air, including bullets and cannonballs, not only self-propelled ones

Grammar Patterns

missile + verb (launches/lands/strikes)

launch/fire + a missile

missile + noun (system/strike/attack)

Usage Note

Commonly modified by type adjectives: guided missile, ballistic missile, cruise missile. In news reporting, this is the default sense.

2. A thing like a rock or a glass bottle that someone throws violently to injure an

2.nounB2
Definition

A thing like a rock or a glass bottle that someone throws violently to injure another person or to cause damage.

Example

Protesters threw missiles at the police, and a stone hit an officer in the arm.

throw missiles at — common verb + preposition pattern

Aaron picked up a brick and used it as a missile to break the window.

Common collocations
  • throw missiles
  • use something as a missile
  • become a missile
Synonyms
  • projectile

    more formal and technical; used for any object sent through the air, including bullets and arrows

  • shot

    usually refers to a bullet or the act of firing a gun; narrower than missile in this sense

Grammar Patterns

throw + missile

use [object] as + a missile

Usage Note

This sense is broader than sense 1. It includes everyday objects (stones, bottles, bricks) when thrown violently. The object does not need to be a purpose-built weapon.

missile — adjective

Word family

  • missilery
    nounC2
  • antimissile
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Missile, rocket, projectile, and bomb all refer to objects that travel through the air, but they differ in key ways. A missile is a weapon with its own guidance system, designed to hit a specific target — it is always a weapon. A rocket is a vehicle powered by a rocket engine; rockets can carry satellites, people, or weapons, so not every rocket is a missile. A projectile is the broadest term: any object thrown or fired through the air, from a bullet to a cannonball to a stone. A bomb is an explosive device that is dropped, placed, or thrown; unlike a missile, a bomb does not need its own engine or guidance system. For instance, a military aircraft might drop a bomb on a bridge, but it would launch a missile at a moving ship. In everyday use, missile is associated with military strikes, rocket with space travel, projectile with physics, and bomb with explosions.

missile ↗rocket ↗projectilebomb ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • fire a missile
  • launch a missile
  • missile strike
  • missile defence system

Prepositions

  • at (threw missiles at)
  • by (hit by a missile)
  • from (launched from)

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word missile comes from the Latin word 'missilis', meaning 'that may be thrown'. This comes from the verb 'mittere', which means 'to send' or 'to let go'. The word entered English through French in the 1600s. For centuries it meant any thrown object, but in the mid-1900s it took on its modern military meaning of a self-propelled flying weapon.