rocket
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rocket¹
- /ˈɹɒk.ɪt/ UK
- /ˈɹɑk.ɪt/ US
- /ˈɹɑ.kət/
Rhymes with -ɒkɪt
Where it comes from
From Italian rocchetta, from Old Italian rocchetto (“rocket”, literally “a bobbin”), diminutive of rocca (“a distaff”), from Lombardic rocko (“spinning wheel”), from Proto-West Germanic *rokkō, from Proto-Germanic *rukkô (“a distaff, a staff with flax fibres tied loosely to it, used in spinning thread”). Cognate with Old High German rocco, rocko, roccho, rocho ("a distaff"; > German Rocken (“a distaff”)), Swedish rock (“a distaff”), Icelandic rokkur (“a distaff”), Middle English rocke (“a distaff”). More at rock⁴.
For the meaning development, compare fuselage, ultimately from Latin fūsus (“spindle, spinning wheel”).
noun rockets
- A cylindrical projectile that can be fired to a great height through combustion, (specifically) a type of firework of this form, typically exploding with light and colour; a skyrocket.
- A blunt lance head used in jousting.
- A long vehicle or craft propelled by a rocket engine; a missile or rocket-propelled spacecraft. As Elon Musk returns his focus to his businesses, one of his most important companies just had another setback: A SpaceX Starship rocket exploded in an immense fireball Wednesday during a routine ground test.
- An engine operating similarly to the pyrotechnic, generating thrust by the expulsion of hot gases; a rocket engine.
- Something that travels high in the air or with great speed; especially (sport), a hard shot. Fernandinho launched a rocket that flew just over. Gundogan's shot hit off Sviatchenko and Gordon and went out. City pressed and pressed.
- A severe reprimand; a telling-off. The Burmese nurse who'd gone with her was crying, for which she'd no doubt get a rocket from matron.
- An ace (the playing card).
- A stupid or crazy person. Why were the Luddites named efter Ned Ludd? A wee rocket. A wee fucken fairy bampot. A pure hooligan, smashing stuff up. A ned. Ned Ludd.
- A very physically attractive woman.
verb rockets · rocketing · rocketed
- To accelerate swiftly and powerfully. With Free Guy, Reynolds gets just a little more in touch with his Carrey side via nothing less than his own version of The Truman Show, shorn of its daydream dread and rocketed into the age of Fortnite.
- To fly vertically.
-
To rise or soar rapidly.
The project was attractive because of the ability to maximise the use of existing and decommissioned railways, minimise land take, and decrease the amount of disruption during the project. With London land prices rocketing, there was also a significant financial incentive.
Similar: skyrocket
- To experience sudden fame, popularity, or success. After spending years in obscurity, the band finally rocketed last week.
- To carry something in a rocket.
- To attack something with rockets.
rocket²
- /ˈɹɒk.ɪt/ UK
- /ˈɹɑk.ɪt/ US
- /ˈɹɑ.kət/
Rhymes with -ɒkɪt
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French roquette, from Italian ruchetta, diminutive of ruca, from Latin eruca. Cognate to arugula, rucola, eruca, roquette.
noun rockets
-
A leaf vegetable of species Eruca sativa or Eruca vesicaria.
Similar: arugula, rocket salad, eruca
- Any plant of the genus Eruca. And avoid certain aphrodisiac foods, such as onions and rockets.
- Rocket larkspur (Consolida regalis, syn. Delphinium consolida).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: rocket engine, skyrocket, rocket salad, roquette, arugula, eruca sativa, garden rocket, propellant, bomb, spaceship, launching, fuze, launcher, fuse, engineer, ship
Translations
Every language
noun rocket engine
| Español | motor de cohete |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 로켓 roket |
| 日本語 | ロケット roketto |
| 中文 | 火箭發動機 /火箭发动机 huǒjiàn fādòngjī |
| हिन्दी | राकेट rākeṭ |
| Kiswahili | roketi |
| Português | foguete |
| Français | fusée |
| Deutsch | Rakete |
| Italiano | motore a razzo |
| Ελληνικά | πύραυλος pýravlos |
| Română | rachetă |
| Русский | раке́та rakéta |
| Tiếng Việt | động cơ tên lửa |
| العربية | صَارُوخ ṣārūḵ |
| עברית | מָנוֹעַ manóa, רָקֶטָה rakéta |
noun military: non-guided missile
| Español | cohete |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 로켓 roket, 로켓트 roket'teu, 미사일 misail |
| 日本語 | 噴進弾 funshindan, ロケット roketto, ロケット弾 roketto dan |
| 中文 | 火箭 huǒjiàn |
| हिन्दी | प्रक्षेपास्त्र prakṣepāstra |
| Kiswahili | roketi |
| Português | foguete |
| Français | roquette |
| Deutsch | Rakete |
| Italiano | razzo |
| Română | rachetă |
| Русский | раке́та rakéta |
| Tiếng Việt | tên lửa |
| العربية | صَارُوخ ṣārūḵ, قَذِيفَة qaḏīfa |
| עברית | רָקֶטָה rakéta, טִיל til |
Talk about this word "rocket." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rocket. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. rocket. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rocket "rocket." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rocket.Cite this
@misc{rocket_2026,
title = {rocket},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rocket},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
