torpedo
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Armament made up of a long cylindrical self-propelled underwater projectile that detonates on contact with a target.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
tawrpeedohSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
tɔɹˈpidoʊ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
military
Armament consisting of a long cylindrical self-propelled underwater projectile that detonates on contact with a target
military
A cylindrical explosive projectile that can travel underwater and is used as a weapon.
Northeastern US
A large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States
Northeastern US
A submarine sandwich.
A kind of firework in the form of a small ball, or pellet, which explodes when thrown upon a hard object.
verb
transitivefigurative
To undermine or destroy any endeavor with a powerful attack.
transitive
To strike (a ship) with one or more torpedoes.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Armament consisting of a long cylindrical self-propelled underwater projectile that detonates on contact with a target
Used this way, torpedo is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a military use: it belongs to service and operational language.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Military
- Historical writing
- News/reporting
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Nearby words
- wedge , used mainly in Regional English
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.