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torpedo - 8 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. |
Origin:
1510–20; < L torpēdō numbness, torpidity, electric ray, equiv. to torpē(re) to be stiff (see torpid 1 ) + -dō n. suffix
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
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. |
tor·pe·do (tôr-pē'dō) n. pl. tor·pe·does
[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.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Torpedo
Tor*pe"do\, n. An automobile with a torpedo body. [Cant]Torpedo
Tor*pe"do\, n.; pl. Torpedoes. [L. torpedo, -inis, from torpere to be stiff, numb, or torpid. See Torpid.]1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes belonging to Torpedo and allied genera. They are related to the rays, but have the power of giving electrical shocks. Called also crampfish, and numbfish. See Electrical fish, under Electrical. Note: The common European torpedo (T. vulgaris) and the American species (T. occidentalis) are the best known. 2. An engine or machine for destroying ships by blowing them up. Specifically: (a) A quantity of explosives anchored in a channel, beneath the water, or set adrift in a current, and so arranged that they will be exploded when touched by a vessel, or when an electric circuit is closed by an operator on shore. (b) A kind of small submarine boat carrying an explosive charge, and projected from a ship against another ship at a distance, or made self-propelling, and otherwise automatic in its action against a distant ship. 3. (Mil.) A kind of shell or cartridge buried in earth, to be exploded by electricity or by stepping on it. 4. (Railroad) A kind of detonating cartridge or shell placed on a rail, and exploded when crushed under the locomotive wheels, -- used as an alarm signal. 5. An explosive cartridge or shell lowered or dropped into a bored oil well, and there exploded, to clear the well of obstructions or to open communication with a source of supply of oil. 6. A kind of firework in the form of a small ball, or pellet, which explodes when thrown upon a hard object. Fish torpedo, a spindle-shaped, or fish-shaped, self-propelling submarine torpedo. Spar torpedo, a canister or other vessel containing an explosive charge, and attached to the end of a long spar which projects from a ship or boat and is thrust against an enemy's ship, exploding the torpedo. Torpedo boat, a vessel adapted for carrying, launching, operating, or otherwise making use of, torpedoes against an enemy's ship. Torpedo nettings, nettings made of chains or bars, which can be suspended around a vessel and allowed to sink beneath the surface of the water, as a protection against torpedoes.Torpedo
Tor*pe"do\, v. t. to destroy by, or subject to the action of, a torpedo. --London Spectator.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : torpedo
Spanish:
torpedo,
German:
der Torpedo,
Japanese:
魚雷
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
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