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rocket - 14 dictionary results

rock⋅et

1  [rok-it]
Use rocket in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of various simple or complex tubelike devices containing combustibles that on being ignited liberate gases whose action propels the tube through the air: used for pyrotechnic effect, signaling, carrying a lifeline, hurling explosives at an enemy, putting a space vehicle into orbit, etc.
2. a space capsule or vehicle put into orbit by such devices.
3. rocket engine.
–verb (used with object)
4. to move or transport by means of a rocket.
5. to attack with rockets.
–verb (used without object)
6. to move like a rocket.
7. (of game birds) to fly straight up rapidly when flushed.
Origin:
1605–15; < It rocchetta, dim. of rocca distaff (with reference to its shape) < Goth *rukka

Related forms:
rock⋅et⋅like, adjective

rock⋅et

2  [rok-it]
–noun
1. any of various plants belonging to the genus Hesperis, of the mustard family, and related genera. Compare dame's rocket.
2. Also called rocket salad, roquette. arugula.
3. a noxious weed, Barbarea vulgaris, of the U.S., having lobed leaves and clusters of small, yellow flowers.
Origin:
1520–30; < F roquette < It ruchetta ≪ L ērūca kind of herb

a⋅ru⋅gu⋅la

  [uh-roo-guh-luh]
–noun
a Mediterranean plant, Eruca vesicaria sativa, of the mustard family, having pungent leaves used in salads.
Also called rocket, roquette.

Origin:
1965–70; appar. < an Upper It dial. form, akin to Lombard arigola, Venetian rucola < L ērūca name for Eruca sativa (cf. It ruca), with dim. suffix -ola < L -ula -ule; cf. rocket 2

Ri⋅chard

  [ri-shahrd; Fr. ree-shar]
–noun
Mau⋅rice [maw-rees; Fr. moh-rees] , (“Rocket”), 1921–2000, Canadian hockey player.

rocket engine

 
–noun
a reaction engine that produces a thrust due to an exhaust consisting entirely of material, as oxidizer, fuel, and inert matter, that has been carried with the engine in the vehicle it propels, none of the propellant being derived from the medium through which the vehicle moves.
Also called rocket, rocket motor.

Origin:
1930–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rocket
a·ru·gu·la   (ə-rōō'gə-lə)   
n.  A Mediterranean plant (Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa) having flowers with purple-veined, yellowish-white petals and pungent, edible leaves. Also called rocket2, rocket salad, roquette.

[Probably Italian dialectal, from Latin ērūca, cabbage.]
rock·et 1  
n.  
    1. A rocket engine.
    2. A vehicle or device propelled by one or more rocket engines, especially such a vehicle designed to travel through space.
  2. A projectile weapon carrying a warhead that is powered and propelled by rockets.
  3. A projectile firework having a cylindrical shape and a fuse that is lit from the rear.
v.   rock·et·ed, rock·et·ing, rock·ets

v.   intr.
  1. To move swiftly and powerfully, as a rocket
  2. To fly swiftly straight up, as a game bird frightened from cover.
  3. To soar or rise rapidly: The book rocketed to the top of the bestseller list.
v.   tr.
  1. To carry by means of a rocket.
  2. To assault with rockets.

[Italian rocchetta, diminutive of rocca, spindle, distaff, of Germanic origin.]
rock·et 2   (rŏk'ĭt)   
n.  
  1. See arugula.
  2. Any of several plants of the mustard family, especially the dame's rocket and the sea rocket.

[Middle English rokette, from Old French roquette, from Italian rochetta, variant of ruchetta, diminutive of ruca, a kind of cabbage, from Latin ērūca.]
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

Rocket

Rock"et\, n. [F. roquette (cf. Sp. ruqueta, It ruchetta), fr. L. eruca.] (Bot.) (a) A cruciferous plant (Eruca sativa) sometimes eaten in Europe as a salad. (b) Damewort. (c) Rocket larkspur. See below.

Dyer's Rocket. (Bot.) See Dyer's broom, under Broom.

Rocket larkspur (Bot.), an annual plant with showy flowers in long racemes (Delphinium Ajacis).

Sea rocket (Bot.), either of two fleshy cruciferous plants (Cakile maritima and C. Americana) found on the seashore of Europe and America.

Yellow rocket (Bot.), a common cruciferous weed with yellow flowers (Barbarea vulgaris).

Rocket

Rock"et\, n. [It. rocchetta, fr. rocca a distaff, of German origin. Named from the resemblance in shape to a distaff. See Rock a distaff.]

1. An artificial firework consisting of a cylindrical case of paper or metal filled with a composition of combustible ingredients, as niter, charcoal, and sulphur, and fastened to a guiding stick. The rocket is projected through the air by the force arising from the expansion of the gases liberated by combustion of the composition. Rockets are used as projectiles for various purposes, for signals, and also for pyrotechnic display.

2. A blunt lance head used in the joust.

Congreve rocket, a powerful form of rocket for use in war, invented by Sir William Congreve. It may be used either in the field or for bombardment; in the former case, it is armed with shells or case shot; in the latter, with a combustible material inclosed in a metallic case, which is inextinguishable when kindled, and scatters its fire on every side.

Rocket

Rock"et\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Rocketed; p. pr. & vb. n. Rocketing.] (Sporting) To rise straight up; said of birds; usually in the present participle or as an adjective. [Eng.]

An old cock pheasant came rocketing over me. --H. R. Haggard.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : rocket
Spanish: cohete,
German: die Rakete,
Japanese: ロケット
More Translations »

rocket  (1)
"garden plant of the cabbage family," 1530, from M.Fr. roquette, from It. rochetta, dim. of ruca "a kind of cabbage," from L. eruca "colewort," perhaps lit. "hairy caterpillar" (the plant has downy stems) and related to ericus "hedgehog."

rocket  (2)
"projectile," 1611, from It. rocchetto "a rocket," lit. "a bobbin," dim. of rocca "a distaff," so called because of cylindrical shape. The It. word probably is from a Gmc. source (cf. O.H.G. rocko "distaff," O.N. rokkr), from P.Gmc. *rukka-, from PIE base *rug- "to spin." Originally "fireworks rocket," meaning "device propelled by a rocket engine" first recorded 1919; rocket-ship first attested 1927. The verb meaning "to spring like a rocket" is from 1883.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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rocket   (rŏk'ĭt)  Pronunciation Key 
A vehicle or device propelled by one or more rocket engines, especially such a vehicle designed to travel through space.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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