rocket
rocket Lexical Profile
rocket Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A cylindrical spacecraft or vehicle propelled to great heights and speeds by the rapid expulsion of hot gases from a combustion engine.
"Engineers monitored the telemetry data as the rocket ascended into low Earth orbit."
A cylindrical pyrotechnic device or firework that shoots high into the air when ignited, producing a trail of sparks or an aerial display.
"The New Year celebration concluded with colorful rockets illuminating the night sky."
British The pungent, peppery-tasting edible leaves of an annual Mediterranean herb (Eruca vesicaria) of the mustard family Brassicaceae, widely eaten raw as a salad green.
"She tossed fresh rocket with shaved parmesan, olive oil, and lemon juice."
• verb
To move or shoot upward or forward with great speed and force.
"The express train rocketed through the countryside at over two hundred kilometers per hour."
To increase or rise very rapidly and suddenly in amount, price, or popularity.
"Housing prices in the metropolitan area have rocketed over the past five years."
Word Nuance & Usage
In culinary contexts, 'rocket' is the standard British, Australian, and New Zealand term for the peppery salad green known in North America as 'arugula'.
• Rhymes for rocket
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The projectile sense derives from 17th-century Italian 'rocchetto' ('bobbin' or 'spool'), a diminutive of 'rocca' ('distaff'), referring to the cylindrical shape of early gunpowder tubes. The botanical sense comes independently from Middle French 'roquette', ultimately from Latin 'eruca', meaning a type of cabbage or colewort.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.