torpedo
torpedo Lexical Profile
torpedo Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A cigar-shaped, self-propelled underwater projectile launched from a submarine, surface ship, or aircraft, designed to detonate upon contact with or in proximity to a naval target.
"The maritime museum features a decommissioned submarine with its forward torpedo tubes open for inspection."
Any bottom-dwelling cartilaginous fish of the family Torpedinidae (order Torpediniformes), native to temperate and tropical seas worldwide, having a flat rounded body and paired head organs capable of generating strong electric shocks to stun prey or deter predators; an electric ray.
"Ancient Mediterranean physicians sometimes used the shock of a live torpedo to numb pain in patients."
American A large sandwich made on a long, cylindrical crusty roll filled with assorted meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments; a submarine sandwich.
"We stopped at the corner delicatessen to pick up a couple of Italian torpedoes for our picnic."
• verb
To ruin, destroy, or cause the sudden failure of (a plan, negotiation, project, or career).
"A sudden disagreement over patent rights threatened to torpedo the merger at the last minute."
To attack, strike, or sink (a ship or naval target) with a self-propelled underwater projectile.
"The merchant vessel was torpedoed in the North Atlantic during the winter convoy."
• Rhymes for torpedo
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the early 16th century from Latin torpedo ('stiffness, numbness'), from the verb torpere ('to be numb or sluggish'). The word originally denoted the electric ray—whose shock numbs its prey—before being applied by Robert Fulton in the early 19th century to underwater naval mines and later self-propelled naval weapons.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.