Definition of rockets in English

Wiktionary

rockets (Noun)
Plural of rocket.

Part of speech

🔤

rockets, verb, present, 3rd person singular of rocket (infinitive).
rockets, noun, plural of rocket.

WordNet

Noun Plural: rockets
rocket - a jet engine containing its own propellant and driven by reaction propulsion
		rocket engine
		jet engine a gas turbine produces a stream of hot gas that propels a jet plane by reaction propulsion
		projectile, rocket a weapon that is forcibly thrown or projected at a targets but is not self-propelled
		booster rocket, booster unit, takeoff booster, takeoff rocket, booster an additional dose that makes sure the first dose was effective
		nuclear rocket a rocket engine in which a nuclear reactor is used to heat a propellant
		retrorocket a small rocket engine on a larger rocket or spacecraft that is fired to slow or alter its course
		space rocket a rocket powerful enough to travel into outer space
rocket - any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine
		projectile
		vehicle a conveyance that transports people or objects
		missile a rocket carrying a warhead of conventional or nuclear explosives; may be ballistic or directed by remote control
		multistage rocket, step rocket a rocket having two or more rocket engines (each with its own fuel) that are fired in succession and jettisoned when the fuel is exhausted
		rocket engine, rocket a jet engine containing its own propellant and driven by reaction propulsion
rocket - propels bright light high in the sky, or used to propel a lifesaving line or harpoon
		skyrocket
		visual signal a signal that involves visual communication
rocket - erect European annual often grown as a salad crop to be harvested when young and tender
		roquette, garden rocket, rocket salad, arugula, Eruca sativa, Eruca vesicaria sativa
		herbaceous plant, herb aromatic potherb used in cookery for its savory qualities
rocket - sends a firework display high into the sky
		skyrocket
		firework, pyrotechnic (usually plural) a device with an explosive that burns at a low rate and with colored flames; can be used to illuminate areas or send signals etc.
Verb rockets, rocketing, rocketed
rocket - propel with a rocket
		impel, propel urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate
rocket - shoot up abruptly, like a rocket; "prices skyrocketed"
		skyrocket
		move up, arise, go up, uprise, come up, rise, lift result or issue; "A slight unpleasantness arose from this discussion"

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

Wiktionary

rocket (Noun)
A rocket engine .
rocket (Noun)
A non- guided missile propelled by a rocket engine.
rocket (Noun)
A vehicle propelled by a rocket engine.
rocket (Noun)
A rocket propelled firework, a skyrocket.
rocket (Noun)
An ace the playing card .
rocket (Noun)
An angry communication such as a letter or telegram to a subordinate.
rocket (Noun)
The leaf vegetable.
rocket (Verb)
To accelerate swiftly and powerfully.
rocket (Verb)
To fly vertically.
rocket (Verb)
To rise or soar rapidly.
rocket (Verb)
To carry something in a rocket.
rocket (Verb)
To attack something with rockets.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

rocket (n.)
A cruciferous plant (Eruca sativa) sometimes eaten in Europe as a salad.
rocket (n.)
Damewort.
rocket (n.)
Rocket larkspur. See below.
rocket (n.)
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.
rocket (n.)
A blunt lance head used in the joust.
rocket (v. i.)
To rise straight up; said of birds; usually in the present participle or as an adjective.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

rocket
Annual plant whose leaves are edible and used in salads.
rocket
Reaction-propelled tool using only load propellants, without resorting to the surrounding medium.

Sailor's Word-BookThe Sailor's Word-Book ⛵

rocket
The well-known pyrotechnical preparation, but modified to suit various purposes. A cylindrical case charged with a fiercely burning composition, the gases of which, rushing out from the after-end against the resisting atmosphere, propel the whole forward at a rate continually increasing, until the composition be expended. It is generally kept in balance by a long light stick or tail attached. The case is made of metal or paper, and variously headed to the amount of 32 lbs. if its purpose be war (see CONGREVE-ROCKETS); life-saving (by conveying a line over a stranded vessel); even the killing of whales, when reduced to 1, 2, or 3 lbs.; or, lastly, signals, for which it is fired straight upwards.

Military DictionaryMilitary Dictionary and Gazetteer 💥

rocket
A rocket is a projectile which is set in motion by a force residing within itself; it therefore performs the twofold function of piece and projectile. See PYROTECHNY.
History.--Rockets were used in India and China for war purposes before the discovery of gunpowder; some writers fix the date of their invention about the close of the 9th century. Their inferior force and accuracy limited the sphere of their operations to incendiary purposes, until the year 1804, when Sir William Congreve turned his attention to their improvement. This officer substituted sheet-iron cases for those made of paper, which enabled him to use a more powerful composition; he made the guide-stick shorter and lighter, and removed a source of inaccuracy of flight by attaching the stick to the centre of the base instead of the side of the case. The advantages claimed for rockets over cannon are, unlimited size of projectile, portability, freedom from recoil, rapidity of discharge, and the terror which their noise and fiery trail produce on mounted troops.
Structure.--A rocket is essentially composed of a strong case of paper or wrought iron, inclosing a composition of nitre, charcoal, and sulphur,--the same as gunpowder, except that the ingredients are proportioned for a slower rate of combustion. If penetration and range be required, its head is surmounted by a solid shot; if explosion and incendiary effect, by a shell or spherical case-shot, to which is attached a fuze, which is set on fire when it is reached by the flame of the burning composition. The base is perforated by one or more vents for the escape of the gas generated within, and sometimes with a screw-hole to which a guide-stick is fastened.
Motion.--A rocket is set in motion by the reaction of a rapid stream of gas escaping through its vents. If it be surrounded by a resisting medium, the atmosphere, for instance, the particles of gas as they issue from the vent will impinge against and set in motion certain particles of air, and the force expended on the inertia of these particles will react and increase the propelling force of the rocket. It follows, therefore, that, though a rocket will move in vacuo, its propelling force will be increased by the presence of a resisting medium. Whether the effect will be to accelerate the rocket depends upon the relation between the resistance which the medium offers to the motion of the gas and that which it offers to the motion of the rocket.
Vent.--As the rate of combustion of the composition is independent of the pressure of the gas in the bore, it follows, that if the size of the vent be contracted, the flow of gas through it will be accelerated. The strength of the case, and the friction of the gas, which increases as the vent diminishes, alone limit the reduction of the size of the vent. For vents of the same size, but of different shapes, that one which allows the gas to escape most freely will be most favorable to the flight of the rocket. A conical form of vent, with the larger orifice next to the bore, will allow the gas to escape more rapidly than one of cylindrical form.
Bore.--As the composition of a rocket burns in parallel layers of uniform thickness, the amount of gas generated in a given time, or the velocity of its exit from the case, depends on the extent of the inflamed surface. Experience shows that to obtain the required surface of inflammation, it is necessary to form a long cavity in the mass of the composition. This cavity is called the bore. In all rockets the bore should be concentric with the case; its shape should be made conical to diminish the strain on the case near its head, by reducing the amount of surface where the pressure on the unit of surface is greatest.
Nature of Movement.--Suppose the rocket in a state of rest, and the composition ignited; the flame immediately spreads over the surface of the bore, forming gas which issues from the vent. The escape is slow in the first moments, as the density of the gas is slight; but as the surface of inflammation is large compared to the size of the vent, the gas accumulates rapidly, and its density is increased until the velocity of the escape is sufficient to overcome the resistance which the rocket offers to motion. These resistances are, inertia, friction, the component of weight in the direction of motion, and, after motion takes place, the resistance of the air. The constant pressure on the head of the bore accelerates the motion of the rocket until the resistance of the air equals the propelling force; after this, it will remain constant until the burning surface is sensibly diminished. When the gas ceases to flow, the rocket loses its distinctive character, and becomes, so far as its movement is concerned, an ordinary projectile. The increase in the surface of combustion whereby more gas is developed in the same time, and the diminution in the weight of the remaining composition, cause the point of maximum velocity to be reached with increased rapidity. If the weight of the rocket be increased, the instant of maximum velocity will be prolonged, but the amount will remain the same. A change in the form of the rocket which increases the resistance of the air, will have the effect to diminish the maximum velocity.
Guiding Principle.--The propelling force of a rocket changes its direction with the axis along which it acts; it follows, therefore, that without some means of giving stability to this axis, the path described will be very irregular, so much so, at times, as to fold upon itself; and instances have been known where these projectiles have returned to the point whence they started. The two means now used to give steadiness to the flight of a rocket are, rotation, as in the case of a rifle-ball, and the resistance of the air, as in an arrow.
Hale’s System.--The first is exemplified in Hale’s rocket, where rotation is produced around the long axis by the escape of the gas through five small vents situated obliquely to it. In his first arrangement, the inventor placed the small vents in the base, surrounding the central vent, so that the resultant of the tangential forces acted around the posterior extremity of the axis of rotation. In 1855, this arrangement was changed by reducing the number of the small vents to three, and placing them at the base of the head of the rocket. The rocket thus modified is the one now used by the U. S. government for war purposes. A still later improvement in Hale’s rocket consists in screwing a cast-iron piece into the bottom of the case, which is perforated with three vents. A corresponding side of each vent is surrounded with a fence, the opposite sides being open. The gas in its efforts to expand after issuing from the vents, presses against the fences and rotates the rocket around its long axis.
Congreve’s System.--A Congreve rocket is guided by a long wooden stick attached to its base. If any cause act to turn it from its proper direction, it will be opposed by resistances equal to its moment of inertia and the lateral action of the air against the stick. The effect of these resistances will be increased by placing the centre of gravity near the head of the rocket, and by increasing the surface of the stick. In signal-rockets, where the case is made of paper, the stick is attached to the side, and there is but one large vent, which is in the centre of the case. In war-rockets the stick is attached to the centre of the base, and the large central vent is replaced by several small ones near its circumference. The former arrangement is not so favorable to accuracy as the latter, inasmuch as rotation will be produced if the force of propulsion and the resistance of the air do not act in the same line.
How Fired.--Rockets are generally fired from tubes or gutters; but should occasion require it, they may be fired directly from the ground, care being taken to raise the forward end by propping it up with a stick or stone. As the motion is slow in the first moments of its flight, it is more liable to be deviated from its proper direction at this time than any other; for this reason the conducting-tube should be as long as practicable.
Form of Trajectory.--Take that portion of the trajectory where the velocity is uniform. The weight of the rocket applied at its centre of gravity, and acting in a vertical direction, and the propelling force acting in the direction of its length, are two forces the oblique resultant of which moves the rocket parallel to itself; but the resistance of the air is oblique to this direction, and acting at the centre of figure, a point situated between the centre of gravity and extremity of the guide-stick, produces a rotation which raises the stick, and thereby changes the direction in which the gas acts. As these forces are constantly acting, it follows that each element of the trajectory has less inclination to the horizon than the element of an ordinary trajectory in which the velocity is equal. When the velocity is not uniform, the position of the centre of gravity has a certain influence on the form of the trajectory. To understand this, it is necessary to consider that the component of the resistance of the air which acts on the head of the rocket is greater than that which acts on the side of the stick. It is also necessary to consider that the pressure of the inflamed gas acts in a direction opposite to the resistance of the air, that is to say, from the rear to the front, and that the centre of gravity is near the rear extremity of the case. At the beginning of the trajectory, when the motion of the rocket is accelerated, its inertia is opposed to motion, and being applied at the centre of gravity, which is in rear of the vent, the point of application of the moving force, it acts to prevent the rocket from turning over in its flight. But when the composition is consumed, the centre of gravity is thrown farther to the rear, and the velocity of the rocket is retarded, the inertia acts in the opposite direction, and the effect will be, if the centre of gravity or inertia is sufficiently far to the rear, to cause it to turn over in the direction of its length. If the rocket be directed toward the earth, this turning over will be counteracted by the acceleration of velocity due to the weight, and the form of the trajectory will be preserved.
Effect of Wind.--When the wind acts obliquely to the plane of fire, its component perpendicular to this flame acting at the centre of figure will cause the rocket to rotate around its centre of gravity. As the centre of figure is situated in rear of the centre of gravity, the point will be thrown toward the wind, and the propelling force acting always in the direction of the axis, the rocket will be urged toward the direction of the wind. To make an allowance for the wind in firing rockets, they should be pointed toward the opposite side from which the wind comes, or with the wind instead of against it. If the wind act in the plane of fire from front to rear, it will have the effect to depress the point, and with it the elements of the trajectory in the ascending branch, and elevate them in the descending branch; as the latter is shorter than the former, the effect of a front wind will be to diminish the range. The converse will be true for a rear wind.
Kind Used.--The two sizes of Hale’s rockets in use in the American service are, the 2-inch (interior diameter of case), weighing 6 pounds, and 3-inch (interior diameter of case), weighing 16 pounds. Under an angle of from 4° to 5° the range of these rockets is from 500 to 600 yards. Under an angle of 47° the range of the former is 1760 yards, and the latter 2200.

Wikipedia

A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft - manned (e.g. Saturn V); or unmanned (e.g. Phoenix air-to-air missile). ("Manned" means that a person is in it; "unmanned" means that the machine can go without a person.) It can rise because exhaust thrust from the engine is bigger than the weight of the vehicle in relation to its weight on earth.

Defense.

In defense uses, rockets are limited by the same things as other flying machines. Unmanned rockets however are not bound by the gravitational limits of humans. Generally, rockets go faster than the speed of sound (Mach 1) and may reach speeds of up to Mach 5 and even up to 30'000 km/hr in LEO (Low Earth Orbit).