Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

go ballistic

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.48 in modern English

Syllables: go bal-lis-tic
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To become very angry and irrational.

verb

for a usually rocket-powered, predominantly non-glide projectile or aerial vehicle, such as a ballistic missile, to travel to its target partly via unpowered ballistic or quasi-ballistic flight, usually following burnout of its rocket motor

verb

for a powered, usually guided missile or other aerial vehicle to travel on an unguided or ballistic trajectory, having lost power, control or guidance

Slang

Example Sentences

"She'd go ballistic, possibly even fling a fireball or two, if she knew Selene had him in her apartment."
"Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Hey, sorry for going ballistic back there. I think the whole Julie-being-alive thing affected me more than I thought."
"The guy went ballistic when I tried to tell him he couldn't return the socks if the package had been opened."
"SRAM is a very flexible weapon. It has a ballistic trajectory. It can be launched and go ballistic into its target for a long range... and it can go short range at very low levels."
"I... fired two AIM-7s in a ripple. One AIM-7 went ballistic. The other guided but passed behind the MIG and did not detonate. Knowing that I was then too close for further AIM-7 firing..."
"In the case of retarded bombs released at too high a speed, the retarding fins might tear away and allow the bomb to go ballistic."

Etymology

The idiomatic usage derives from the second-generation of jet fighters, armed with guided missiles, in the late 1950s into the 1960s, with the informal military sense of fully-powered non-ballistic missiles going ballistic when losing control and assuming a free-fall trajectory, sense 3. But in subsequent usage the term has often become associated with the intentionally ballistic, suborbital trajectories of long-range, typically nuclear-armed missiles, sense 2.

Usage

Slang

Inflected Forms

goes ballistic (present, singular) going ballistic (participle, present) went ballistic (past) gone ballistic (participle, past)

Synonyms

flip one's lid blow up throw a fit hit the roof hit the ceiling have kittens have a fit combust blow one's stack fly off the handle flip one's wig lose one's temper

Questions

What does go ballistic mean?: To become very angry and irrational.
Where does go ballistic come from?: The idiomatic usage derives from the second-generation of jet fighters, armed with guided missiles, in the late 1950s into the 1960s, with the informal military sense of fully-powered non-ballistic missiles going ballistic when losing control and assuming a free-fall trajectory, sense 3. But in subsequent usage the term has often become associated with the intentionally ballistic, suborbital trajectories of long-range, typically nuclear-armed missiles, sense 2.

How to pronounce go ballistic

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “go ballistic”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “go ballistic”.
Repeat and practice — Say “go ballistic” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.