catapult
/ˈkatəpʌlt
/noun
1British A forked stick with an elastic band fastened to the two prongs, used by children for shooting small stones.Last year a man lost the sight in his left eye after he answered a knock at his door and was hit by a stone fired from a catapult....
- It is believed the children may have used a catapult to fire the stone.
- The demonstrations descended into a confrontation between the police firing rubber bullets, tear gas and, reportedly, live rounds, and the youths throwing stones and using catapults.
Synonyms
sling;
North American slingshot;
Australian/New Zealand shanghai
2 historical A military machine worked by a lever and ropes for hurling large stones or other missiles.Indeed Archimedes was famous for his application of the law of the lever to the construction of catapults for military purposes....
- Longer-ranged weapons (bows and arrows, catapults, artillery, and, later, guided missiles) allowed armies to fire deadlier rounds from greater distances.
- They were besieged by opposing armies using towers, battering rams, catapults, and flame weapons.
3A mechanical device for launching a glider or other aircraft, especially from the deck of a ship.Her 1.8-hectare flight deck is 333m long, 78m wide and has four catapults and four aircraft lifts....
- There were no catapults for launching aircraft or hangar deck for storage and workshops.
- With the Greyhound shuddering and jolting, the pilot inches the aircraft across the deck towards the waiting catapult.
verb [with object and adverbial of direction]
1Hurl or launch (something) with or as if with a catapult: the explosion catapulted the car 30 yards along the road figurative their music catapulted them to the top of the charts...
- The song, the first tune to be played on Radio 1 when it was launched in 1967, catapulted the group to stardom.
- Two hours of original script and music catapult the audience through the very best and freshest Northern Irish exportable wit.
- One car even catapulted a telegraph pole into her house in the latest collision at the weekend.
Synonyms
propel, launch, hurl, hurtle, fling, send flying, send, let fly, let loose, fire, blast, shoot
1.1 [no object, with adverbial of direction] Move suddenly or at great speed as though hurled by a catapult: the horse catapulted away from the fence...
- Inverness finished sixth, fourth and sixth in the First Division, before suddenly catapulting into title contention with a very, very good run this year.
- Had I suddenly found myself catapulted forward in time to Christmas?
- Ian was amazed at the speed at which he had catapulted back to reality.
Origin
Late 16th century: from French catapulte or Latin catapulta, from Greek katapeltēs, from kata- 'down' + pallein 'hurl'.