Meanings
nounprojectile (plural projectiles)
plural projectiles
- An object intended to be or having been shot from a weapon.
- natural sciencesAny object propelled or thrown through space by the application of a force, such as strong wind.
adjectiveprojectile (not comparable)
- not comparableProjecting or impelling forward.
a projectile force; a projectile weapon
- not comparableCaused or imparted by impulse or projection; impelled forward.
A free and strong Projectile Motion of the Blood must occasion a florid Appearance upon the Skin in such Constitutions
1731, John Arbuthnot, An Essay Concerning the Nature of Aliments, and the Choice of Them, According to the Different Constitutions of Human Bodies. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson […], →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna weapon that is forcibly thrown or projected at a targets but is not self-propelled
Similar
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinprōiectus
- Englishprojectile
From Medieval Latin prōiectilis (“projectile”), from Latin prōiectus, perfect passive participle of prōiciō (“throw forth; extend; expel”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque jaurtigai
- jaurtigaiobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Bulgarian снаря́д, куршу́м
- снаря́д (snarjád)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- куршу́м (kuršúm)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- стрела́ (strelá)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Catalan projectil
- projectilobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Chinese Mandarin 拋射物 /抛射物, 發射體 /发射体
- 拋射物 /抛射物 (pāoshèwù)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- 發射體 /发射体 (fāshètǐ)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Czech střela, projektil
- střelaobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- projektilobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Dutch projectiel
- projectielobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Finnish ammus
- ammusobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
French projectile
- projectileobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
German Projektil, Geschoss
- Projektilobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- Geschossobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Greek βλήμα
- βλήμα (vlíma)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Hebrew קָלִיעַ
- קָלִיעַ (kalía)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Hungarian lövedék
- lövedékobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Indonesian proyektil
- proyektilobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Italian proiettile, munizione
- proiettileobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- munizioneobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Japanese 発射体, 発射物
- 発射体 (hasshatai)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- 発射物 (hasshabutsu)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Korean 발사체
- 발사체 (balsache)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Latvian šāviņš
- šāviņšobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Malay luncuran, lontaran
- luncuranobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- lontaranobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Polish pocisk
- pociskobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Portuguese projétil
- projétilobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Romanian proiectil
- proiectilobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Russian снаря́д, пу́ля
- снаря́д (snarjád)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- пу́ля (púlja)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- стрела́ (strelá)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Scottish Gaelic peilear, urchair
- peilearobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- urchairobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Spanish proyectil
- proyectilobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Swedish projektil
- projektilobject intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Ukrainian снаря́д, ку́ля
- снаря́д (snarjád)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- ку́ля (kúlja)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
- стріла́ (strilá)object intended to be or having been fired from a weapon
Cite this entry
APA
projectile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/projectile
MLA
“projectile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/projectile. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “projectile,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/projectile.
Source: projectile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.