impactor

noun

im·​pac·​tor im-ˈpak-tər How to pronounce impactor (audio)
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
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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

Word History

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of impactor was in 1872

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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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