cruise missile

noun

: a guided missile that has a terrain-following radar system and that flies at moderate speed and low altitude

Examples of cruise missile in a Sentence

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This new Type 093 variant is expected to enhance the Chinese navy's anti-surface warfare capability and could provide a land-attack option if equipped with cruise missiles, with China placing a high priority on modernizing its submarine force, the report said. Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2024 Flying into action with gravity bombs, and later glide bombs and cruise missiles, the Su-24s suffered heavy losses. David Axe, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024 By many accounts, the previous Iranian attack against Israel on April 13 – which consisted of over 300 ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones – caused very little damage to Israel. Aaron Pilkington, The Conversation, 4 Oct. 2024 Between 2021 and early 2024, China’s defense industrial base produced more than 400 modern fighter aircraft and 20 large warships, doubled the country’s nuclear warhead inventory and more than doubled its inventory of ballistic and cruise missiles, and developed a new stealth bomber. Seth G. Jones, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cruise missile 

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cruise missile was in 1959

Dictionary Entries Near cruise missile

Cite this Entry

“Cruise missile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cruise%20missile. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

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