missile
/ˈmɪs.(ə)l/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.14 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any object used as a weapon by being thrown or fired through the air, such as stone, arrow or bullet.
noun
A self-propelled projectile whose trajectory can be adjusted after it is launched.
Example Sentences
- "The Rhodians, who used leaden bullets, were able to project their missiles twice as far as the Persian slingers, who used large stones."
- "And I saw askant the armies, / I saw as in noiseless dreams hundreds of battle-flags, / Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierc’d with missiles I saw them, / And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, / And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs, (and all in silence,) / And the staffs all splinter’d and broken."
- "Riot officers and police on horseback were deployed to disperse the crowns, but they came under attack from bottles, fireworks and other missiles."
- "That missile is explosive enough to kill hundreds."
Etymology
From Latin missile (“thrown weapon, projectile”), neuter of missilis (“throwable, capable of being thrown”), from mittere (“to send”). From 1611. Compare Middle French missile (“projectile”), from 1636.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɪs.(ə)l/
- British English: /ˈmɪs.aɪl/