catapult
pronunciation
How to pronounce catapult in British English:
UK [ˈkætəpʌlt]
How to pronounce catapult in American English:
US [ˈkætəˌpʌlt,-ˌpʊlt]
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- Noun:
- a plaything consisting of a Y-shaped stick with elastic between the arms; used to propel small stones
- a device that launches aircraft from a warship
- medieval artillery used during sieges; a heavy war engine for hurling large stones and other missiles
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- Verb:
- shoot forth or launch, as if from a catapult
- hurl as if with a sling
Word Origin
- catapult
- catapult: [16] The first catapults were large military machines for hurling missiles at the enemy (originally darts, in contrast with the ballista, which discharged large rocks, but the distinction did not last); the schoolboy’s handheld catapult, consisting of a piece of elastic fixed in a Y-shaped frame, did not appear until the latter part of the 19th century. Etymologically, their name is a fairly straightforward description of what they do: it comes ultimately from Greek katapáltēs, which was formed from katá- ‘down’, hence ‘against’, and pállein ‘hurl’.
- catapult (n.)
- 1570s, from Middle French catapulte and directly from Latin catapulta "war machine for throwing," from Greek katapeltes, from kata "against" (see cata-) + base of pallein "to toss, hurl" (see pulse (n.1)). As an airplane-launching device on an aircraft-carrier by 1927.
- catapult (v.)
- 1848, "to throw with a catapult," from catapult (n.). Intransitive sense by 1928. Related: Catapulted; catapulting.
Example
- 1. But it proved unreliable and inaccurate , not least because the catapult launches upset the sensitive gyroscopes , and it never saw action .
- 2. The weapon : flightless birds , launched by catapult .
- 3. Ozawa posted a nearly 13-minute video of his experience from the arrested landing to the catapult launch .
- 4. On the new ford carrier , the catapult that launches jets off the deck will be electromagnetic , not steam-powered , allowing for quicker takeoffs .
- 5. Whereas a steam catapult lets rip with a constant force , the speed and power of a linear motor can be controlled to provide smooth acceleration .