a firework consisting of a long case filled with a combustible material fastened to a guiding stick and projected through the air by the rearward discharge of gases released in combustion
such a device used as an incendiary weapon or as a propelling unit, e.g. for a lifesaving line or whaling harpoon
a spacecraft, missile, etc propelled by a jet engine that carries with it everything necessary for its operation and is thus independent of the oxygen in the air
a rocket-propelled bomb, missile, or projectile
Brit, informal a sharp reprimand
[Italian rocchetta, dimin. of rocca distaff, of Germanic origin]