torpedo
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torpedo
- /ˌtɔː(ɹ)ˈpiː.dəʊ/ UK
- /ˌtoɹˈpi.doʊ/ US
Rhymes with -iːdəʊ
Where it comes from
* Borrowed from Latin torpēdō (“a torpedo fish; numbness, torpidity, electric ray”), from torpeō (“to be stiff, numb, torpid; to be astounded; to be inactive”) + -ēdō (noun suffix), from Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“stiff”). In the military sense coined by Robert Fulton in 1805. Cognate with Old English steorfan (“to die”), Ancient Greek στερεός (stereós, “solid”), Lithuanian tirpstu (“to become rigid”), Old Church Slavonic трупети (trupeti).
* (type of car): From 1908, after "the Torpedo", a car designed by Captain Theo Masui.
noun torpedoes · torpedos
- An electric ray of the genus Torpedo. Faire Queene, forbeare to angle for the fiſh, / Which being caught, ſtrikes him that takes it dead, / I meane that vile Torpedo, Gaueſton, / That now I hope flotes on the Iriſh Seas
- A cylindrical explosive projectile that can travel quickly underwater and is used as a weapon. I stood rigid, spellbound, watching the white wake of the torpedo. It struck us on the starboard side almost amidships. The vessel rocked as though the sea beneath it had been uptorn by a mighty volcano.
- A similar projectile that can travel through space.
- A naval mine.
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An explosive device buried underground, to destroy fortifications, troops, or cavalry.
Similar: land torpedo, land mine
-
Synonym of submarine sandwich.
Similar: submarine sandwich
- A professional gunman or assassin.
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A small explosive device attached to the top of the rail to provide an audible warning when a train passes over it.
Similar: detonator
- A kind of firework in the form of a small ball, or pellet, which explodes when thrown upon a hard object.
- An automobile with a streamlined profile and a folding or detachable soft top, and having the hood or bonnet line raised to be level with the car's waistline, resulting in a straight beltline from front to back.
- A focal ovoid swelling on the axons of Purkinje cells, observed in several diseases such as essential tremor and spinocerebellar ataxia. In several human neurodegenerative diseases, focal axonal swellings on Purkinje cells – known as torpedoes – have been associated with Purkinje cell loss. Interestingly, torpedoes are also reported to appear transiently during development in rat cerebellum.
- A woman's shoe with a pointed toe.
- A large breast; a breast with a large nipple.
-
A thick marijuana cigarette.
Similar: bifta, bifter, blunt, bogie, bomber, bone, bun, Camberwell carrot, doink, doinker, doob, doober
-
A cigarette containing marijuana and crack cocaine.
Similar: bifta, bifter, blunt, bogie, bomber, bone, bun, Camberwell carrot, doink, doinker, doob, doober
verb torpedoes · torpedos · torpedoing · torpedoed
- To strike (a ship) with one or more torpedoes.
- To sink (a ship) with one or more torpedoes. The anti-German riots which erupted simultaneously in many countries in response to the torpedoing of the Lusitania by a German U-boat in 1915 reflected shifts in the status of minorities in multi-ethnic societies at a time of escalating nationalist emotions.
- To undermine or destroy any endeavor with a powerful attack. The left-back had been a selection concern because of an injury niggle but his first goal since last March swung this derby decisively in United’s favour, extending their club record unbeaten run away from home in the Premier League to 22 games and torpedoing City’s sequence of 21 straight wins in a
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: electric ray, crampfish, numbfish, grinder, cuban sandwich, hoagie, hero sandwich, italian sandwich, submarine sandwich, zep, wedge, hoagy, submarine, gun, shooter, gunslinger
Translations
Every language
noun underwater weapon
| Español | torpedo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 어뢰 eoroe |
| 日本語 | 魚雷 gyorai |
| 中文 | 魚雷 /鱼雷 yúléi |
| हिन्दी | टॉरपीडो ṭŏrpīḍo, टारपीडो ṭārpīḍo |
| Português | torpedo |
| Français | torpille |
| Deutsch | Torpedo |
| Italiano | siluro, torpedine |
| Ελληνικά | τορπίλη torpíli |
| Română | torpilă, torpedo |
| Русский | торпе́да torpéda |
| Tiếng Việt | ngư lôi |
| العربية | طُرْبِيد ṭurbīd |
noun fish
| Español | torpedo, raya eléctrica |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 鰩魚 /鳐鱼 yáoyú |
| Français | torpille |
| Deutsch | Zitterrochen |
| Italiano | torpedine, torpiglia |
| Русский | торпе́до torpédo, электри́ческий скат elektríčeskij skat |
verb to strike a ship with a torpedo
| Español | torpedear |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 雷撃する raigeki suru |
| Português | torpedear |
| Français | torpiller |
| Deutsch | torpedieren |
| Italiano | silurare |
| Ελληνικά | τορπιλίζω torpilízo |
| Русский | торпеди́ровать torpedírovatʹ |
Talk about this word "torpedo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/torpedo. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. torpedo. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/torpedo "torpedo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/torpedo.Cite this
@misc{torpedo_2026,
title = {torpedo},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/torpedo},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
