Quantcast
 
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

Torpedo

 - 6 dictionary results

tor⋅pe⋅do

  [tawr-pee-doh] noun, plural -does, verb, -doed, -do⋅ing.
–noun
1. a self-propelled, cigar-shaped missile containing explosives and often equipped with a homing device, launched from a submarine or other warship, for destroying surface vessels or other submarines.
2. any of various submarine explosive devices for destroying hostile ships, as a mine.
3. a cartridge of gunpowder, dynamite, or the like, exploded in an oil well to facilitate the extraction of oil from the well.
4. a detonating device fastened to the top of a rail so as to be exploded by the pressure of a locomotive or car, thus giving an audible signal to members of a train crew.
5. any of various other explosive devices, as a firework that consists of an explosive wrapped up with gravel in a piece of tissue paper and that detonates when thrown forcibly on the ground or against a hard surface.
6. Also called torpedo fish. an electric ray, esp. Torpedo nobiliana, of the Atlantic Ocean.
7. an electric catfish, Malapterurus electricus, inhabiting waters of tropical central Africa and the Nile valley.
8. Informal. a hero sandwich.
9. Slang. a gangster hired as a murderer.
–verb (used with object)
10. to attack, hit, damage, or destroy with torpedoes.
11. to explode a torpedo in (an oil well) to facilitate the extraction of oil.
12. to undermine, ruin, or destroy: He torpedoed our plans.
–verb (used without object)
13. to attack, damage, or sink a ship with torpedoes.
Use Torpedo in a Sentence
Origin:
1510–20; < L torpēdō numbness, torpidity, electric ray, equiv. to torpē(re) to be stiff (see torpid 1 ) + -dō n. suffix

Related forms:
tor⋅pe⋅do⋅like, adjective

Regional variation note:
8. See hero sandwich.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To Torpedo
electric ray  
n.  Any of various tropical or subtropical marine fishes of the family Torpedinidae, having a rounded body and a pair of organs capable of producing an electric discharge, which is used to stun or kill prey. Also called crampfish, numbfish, torpedo.
sub·ma·rine   (sŭb'mə-rēn', sŭb'mə-rēn')   
n.  

  1. Nautical A vessel that is capable of operating submerged. Also called sub1.

  2. A large sandwich consisting of a long roll split lengthwise and filled with layers of meat, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and condiments. Also called sub1; also called regionally Cuban sandwich, grinder, hero, hoagie, Italian sandwich, poor boy, torpedo, wedge, zep.

adj.  Beneath the surface of the water; undersea.
v.   sub·ma·rined, sub·ma·rin·ing, sub·ma·rines

v.   tr.

  1. To attack by submarine, especially with torpedoes.

  2. Sports To knock down with a blow to the legs.

  3. Baseball To pitch (a ball) with an underhand motion.

v.   intr.
To slide, drive, or throw under something.
The long sandwich featuring layers of meat and cheese on a crusty Italian roll or French bread goes by a variety of names. These names are not distributed in a pattern similar to that of other regional words because their use depends on the business and marketing enterprise of the people who create the sandwiches and sell them. Submarine and sub are widespread terms, not assignable to any particular region. Many of the localized terms are clustered in the northeast United States, where the greatest numbers of Italian Americans live. In Maine, it is called an Italian sandwich, befitting its heritage. Elsewhere in New England and in Sacramento, California, it is often called a grinder. New York City knows it as a hero. In the Delaware Valley, including Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, the sandwich is called a hoagie. Speakers in Miami use the name Cuban sandwich. Along the Gulf Coast the same sandwich is often called a poor boy. In New Orleans, a poor boy is likely to be offered in a version featuring fried oysters.
tor·pe·do   (tôr-pē'dō)   
n.   pl. tor·pe·does

  1. A cigar-shaped, self-propelled underwater projectile launched from a submarine, aircraft, or ship and designed to detonate on contact with or in the vicinity of a target.

  2. Any of various submarine explosive devices, especially a submarine mine.

  3. A small explosive placed on a railroad track that is fired by the weight of the train to sound a warning of an approaching hazard.

  4. An explosive fired in an oil or gas well to begin or increase the flow.

  5. A small firework consisting of gravel wrapped in tissue paper with a percussion cap that explodes when thrown against a hard surface.

  6. See electric ray.

  7. Slang A professional assassin or thug.

  8. Chiefly New Jersey See submarine. See Regional Note at submarine.

tr.v.   tor·pe·doed, tor·pe·do·ing, tor·pe·does

  1. To attack, strike, or sink with a torpedo.

  2. To destroy decisively; wreck: torpedo efforts at reform.


[Latin torpēdō, numbness; electric ray, crampfish, from torpēre, to be stiff; see ster-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
torpedo

  1. n.
    a drink containing chloral hydrate; a knockout drink. : Marlowe signaled the bartender to give the stoolie a torpedo.

  2. Go to submarine sense 1. :
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

torpedo 
c.1520, "electric ray," from L. torpedo, originally "numbness" (from the effect of being jolted by the ray's electric discharges), from torpere "be numb" (see torpor). The sense of "explosive device used to blow up enemy ships" is first recorded 1776, as a floating mine; the self-propelled version is from 1860s. The verb is first recorded 1873; the fig. sense is attested from 1895.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Torpedo on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
ExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyThe Daily BeastUrbanspoonAsk AnswersBloglinesSendori