impactor
noun
im·pac·tor
im-ˈpak-tər 
variants
or impacter
1
: a machine (such as a steam or air hammer or a pile driver) or part that operates by striking blows
2
Examples of impactor in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The most likely is a kinetic impactor mission similar to NASA’s DART in 2022, which successfully nudged an asteroid and changed its orbit.
—
Jamie Carter, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
This has led scientists to speculate on whether Antarctica may have been one of few safe environments, far from the destructive reaches of the Chicxulub impactor, for birds to develop in.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
The Chicxulub impactor smashed into Earth, wiped out around 75 percent of our planet’s animals and ended the Cretaceous Period 66 million years ago.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
The impactor created the Schrödinger basin, which is nearly 200 miles (320 kilometers) wide, while also propelling debris that carved deep grooves leading away from the basin.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impactor
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Jamie Carter, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
This has led scientists to speculate on whether Antarctica may have been one of few safe environments, far from the destructive reaches of the Chicxulub impactor, for birds to develop in.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
The Chicxulub impactor smashed into Earth, wiped out around 75 percent of our planet’s animals and ended the Cretaceous Period 66 million years ago.
—Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
The impactor created the Schrödinger basin, which is nearly 200 miles (320 kilometers) wide, while also propelling debris that carved deep grooves leading away from the basin.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impactor
Cite this Entry
“Impactor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impactor. Accessed 16 Mar. 2025.
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