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catapult

 [kat-uh-puhlt, -poolt]   Example Sentences Origin

cat·a·pult

   [kat-uh-puhlt, -poolt]
noun
1.
an ancient military engine for hurling stones, arrows, etc.
2.
a device for launching an airplane from the deck of a ship.
3.
British. a slingshot.
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verb (used with object)
4.
to hurl from a catapult.
5.
to thrust or move quickly or suddenly: His brilliant performance in the play catapulted him to stardom.
6.
British.
a.
to hurl (a missile) from a slingshot.
b.
to hit (an object) with a missile from a slingshot.

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verb (used without object)
7.
to be catapulted.
8.
to move or spring up suddenly, quickly, or forcibly, as if by means of a catapult: The car catapulted down the highway. When he heard the alarm he catapulted out of bed.
Origin:
1570–80; < Latin catapulta < Greek katapéltēs, equivalent to kata- cata- + péltēs hurler, akin to pállein to hurl

Related forms
cat·a·pul·tic, adjective

Synonyms
5. throw, fling, propel, pitch, shoot.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Example Sentences
  • In wars of antiquity, no weapon struck greater terror than the catapult.
  • Not every student has a quality high school to catapult them into a prestigious college.
  • They believed that there must be some sort of biological spring or catapult that launches the tongue on its culinary quest.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
catapult (ˈkætəˌpʌlt)
 
—n
1.  US and Canadian name: slingshot a Y-shaped implement with a loop of elastic fastened to the ends of the two prongs, used mainly by children for shooting small stones, etc
2.  a heavy war engine used formerly for hurling stones, etc
3.  a device installed in warships to launch aircraft
 
—vb (foll by over, into, etc)
4.  (tr) to shoot forth from or as if from a catapult
5.  to move precipitately: she was catapulted to stardom overnight
 
[C16: from Latin catapulta, from Greek katapeltēs, from kata- down + pallein to hurl]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

catapult
1577, from L. catapulta "war machine for throwing," from Gk. katapeltes, from kata "against" + base of pallein "to toss, hurl." The verb is first recorded 1848.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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