ballistic

adjective

bal·​lis·​tic bə-ˈli-stik How to pronounce ballistic (audio)
1
: extremely and usually suddenly excited, upset, or angry : wild
He went ballistic when he saw the dent in his car.
and the crowd goes ballistic
2
: of or relating to the science of the motion of projectiles in flight
3
exercise : being or characterized by repeated bouncing
ballistic stretching
4
physics, of an object in motion : behaving like a projectile
But the Bell Labs switch uses such a low current that the few ballistic electrons are a distance of a micrometer or more apart …Robert Pool
5
of a material : capable of resisting or stopping bullets or other projectiles
ballistic glass
ballistic nylon
… engineered specifically to be worn under ballistic vests and shirts.K. M. Reese
ballistically adverb

Examples of ballistic in a Sentence

she went ballistic when she discovered her brother reading her e-mail
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Police said ballistic evidence was recovered at the scene, but no arrests have been made. Sheetal Banchariya, New York Daily News, 19 May 2025 Shell casings were recovered at the Greenwood Street scene and ballistic evidence from the van. Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 13 May 2025 Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said Wednesday that Russia attacked with ballistic strikes and more than 140 drones overnight in cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Sumy. Tanya Stukalova, ABC News, 7 May 2025 Luck was referring to the Houthi group's use of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as their unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles. Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for ballistic

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin ballisticus "relating to the motion of projectiles in flight," from Latin ballista ballista + New Latin -icus -ic entry 1

Note: The Latin word was apparently introduced by the French priest and polymath Marin Mersenne (1588-1648) in Ballistica et acontismologia, a section (with separate title page) of his Cogitata physico-mathematica (Paris, 1644).

First Known Use

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of ballistic was in 1764

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Cite this Entry

“Ballistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ballistic. Accessed 25 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

ballistic

adjective
bal·​lis·​tic bə-ˈlis-tik How to pronounce ballistic (audio)
: of or relating to ballistics

More from Merriam-Webster on ballistic

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