Lexic.us

Definition of Torpedo

1. Verb. Attack or hit with torpedoes.

2. Noun. A professional killer who uses a gun.

3. Noun. 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.

4. Noun. An explosive device that is set off in an oil well (or a gas well) to start or to increase the flow of oil (or gas).

5. Noun. A small firework that consists of a percussion cap and some gravel wrapped in paper; explodes when thrown forcefully against a hard surface.

6. Noun. A small explosive device that is placed on a railroad track and fires when a train runs over it; the sound of the explosion warns the engineer of danger ahead.

7. Noun. Armament consisting of a long cylindrical self-propelled underwater projectile that detonates on contact with a target.

8. Noun. Any sluggish bottom-dwelling ray of the order Torpediniformes having a rounded body and electric organs on each side of the head capable of emitting strong electric discharges.

Definition of Torpedo

1. n. 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.

2. v. t. to destroy by, or subject to the action of, a torpedo.

3. n. An automobile with a torpedo body.

Definition of Torpedo

1. Noun. (military) A cylindrical explosive projectile that can travel underwater and is used as a weapon. ¹

2. Noun. A fish having wings that generate electric current, a kind of electric ray. ¹

3. Noun. (regional) A submarine sandwich. ¹

4. Noun. (archaic military) A naval mine. ¹

5. Noun. (obsolete military) An explosive device buried underground and set off remotely, to destroy fortifications, troops, or cavalry; a land torpedo ¹

6. Noun. (slang) A professional gunman or assassin. ¹

7. Noun. (rail transport US) a small explosive device attached to the top of the rail to provide an audible warning when a train passes over it ¹

8. Verb. To send a torpedo, usually from a submarine, that explodes below the waterline of the target ship. ¹

9. Verb. To sink a ship with one of more torpedoes. ¹

10. Verb. To undermine or destroy any endeavor with a stealthy, powerful attack. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Torpedo

1. to damage or sink with an underwater missile [v -ED, -ING, -ES or -S]

Medical Definition of Torpedo

1. Origin: L. Torpedo, -inis, from torpere to be stiff, numb, or torpid. See Torpid. 1. 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. 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 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. 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. A kind of shell or cartridge buried in earth, to be exploded by electricity or by stepping on it. 4. 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. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Torpedo

toroidal magnetic cusps toroidally toroidic toroids toros torosaurus torose torosities torosity torot

toroth torous torovirus torovirus infections torpedinous torpedo (current term) torpedo-boat destroyer torpedo boat torpedo boats torpedo bomber

torpedo punt torpedo punts torpedo roll torpedo rolls torpedo tube torpedoed torpedoes torpedoing torpedolike torpedos

Literary usage of Torpedo

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and (1911)
"A is the outer tube ; B the inner tube; C the shield; D torpedo; E explosion chamber for cordite charge placed at K\ P_ pipe for gas to pass into outer tube ..."

2. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1920)
"Trinity and Saint Michael's colleges. torpedo, a genus of rays of the ... torpedo BOATS. The torpedo boat first made its appearance as an adjunct to ;br ..."

3. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1920)
"The offensive weapon of the destroyer was originally the gun, but after the torpedo boat disappeared the torpedo became the important weapon and the guns ..."

4. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General by Thomas Spencer Baynes (1888)
"From below water the torpedo is discharged through a tube, the muzzle of which forms part of the stem of the ship, the tube being fitted with an outside ..."

5. Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute by United States Naval Institute (1903)
"MOTTO: We question the utility of torpedo-boats because we don t know how to ... 49, of June 8, 1901, it is ordered that a torpedo-boat destroyer shall be ..."

6. The Nineteenth Century (1898)
"2 torpedo cruisers, 1 torpedo gun-vessel, 3 first-class and 26 second-class ... 2 battle-ships, 3 protected cruisers, 2 unprotected cruisers, 1 torpedo ..."

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