Definition of torpedo in English

WordNet

Noun Plural: torpedoes
torpedo - armament consisting of a long cylindrical self-propelled underwater projectile that detonates on contact with a target
		armament weaponry used by military or naval force
		aerial torpedo a torpedo designed to be launched from an airplane
		bangalore torpedo a metal pipe filled with explosive, used to detonate land mines or to clear a path through barbed wire
		homing torpedo a torpedo that is guided to its target (as by the sound of a ship's engines)
torpedo - 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
		explosive device device that bursts with sudden violence from internal energy
torpedo - a small firework that consists of a percussion cap and some gravel wrapped in paper; explodes when thrown forcefully against a hard surface
torpedo - 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)
torpedo - a professional killer who uses a gun
		gunman, gunslinger, hired gun, gun, gun for hire, triggerman, hit man, hitman, shooter
		manslayer, murderer, liquidator a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
torpedo - 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
		electric ray, crampfish, numbfish
		ray cartilaginous fishes having horizontally flattened bodies and enlarged winglike pectoral fins with gills on the underside; most swim by moving the pectoral fins
torpedo - 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
		bomber, grinder, hero, hero sandwich, hoagie, hoagy, Cuban sandwich, Italian sandwich, poor boy, sub, submarine, submarine sandwich, wedge, zep
Verb torpedoes, torpedoing, torpedone
torpedo - attack or hit with torpedoes
		assail, attack attack someone physically or emotionally; "The mugger assaulted the woman"; "Nightmares assailed him regularly"

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Wiktionary

torpedo (Noun)
A cylindrical explosive projectile that can travel underwater and is used as a weapon.
torpedo (Noun)
A fish having wings that generate electric current , a kind of electric ray .
torpedo (Noun)
A submarine sandwich .
torpedo (Noun)
A naval mine .
torpedo (Noun)
An explosive device buried underground and set off remotely, to destroy fortifications, troops, or cavalry; a land torpedo .
torpedo (Noun)
A professional gunman or assassin.
torpedo (Noun)
A small explosive device attached to the top of the rail to provide an audible warning when a train passes over it.
torpedo (Verb)
To send a torpedo, usually from a submarine, that explodes below the waterline of the target ship.
torpedo (Verb)
To sink a ship with one of more torpedoes.
torpedo (Verb)
To undermine or destroy any endeavor with a stealthy, powerful attack.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

torpedo (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.
torpedo (n.)
An engine or machine for destroying ships by blowing them up.
torpedo (n.)
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.
torpedo (n.)
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.
torpedo (n.)
A kind of shell or cartridge buried in earth, to be exploded by electricity or by stepping on it.
torpedo (n.)
A kind of detonating cartridge or shell placed on a rail, and exploded when crushed under the locomotive wheels, -- used as an alarm signal.
torpedo (n.)
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.
torpedo (n.)
A kind of firework in the form of a small ball, or pellet, which explodes when thrown upon a hard object.
torpedo (v. t.)
to destroy by, or subject to the action of, a torpedo.

OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

torpedo
A cylindrical explosive projectile that can travel underwater and is used as a weapon.

Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕

torpedo
tor-pē′do, n. a genus of cartilaginous fishes of family Torpedinidæ, related to the skates and rays, with electric organs on each side of the head, giving an electric shock when touched so as to produce torpor or numbness, the cramp-fish: a submarine weapon of offence, carrying a charge of gun-cotton or other explosive, and possessing powers of locomotion—in distinction to a submarine mine, which is stationary and used for defensive purposes:—pl. Torpē′does.—v.t. to attack with torpedoes, to explode a torpedo in or under.—adj. Torped′inous.—ns. Torpē′do-boat, a small swift steamer from which torpedoes are discharged; Torpē′do-boom, a spar for carrying a torpedo, projecting from a boat or anchored in a channel; Torpē′do-catch′er, a swift vessel for capturing torpedo-boats; Torpē′doist, one skilled in the management of torpedoes; Torpē′do-net, a net of wire hung at some distance round a ship to intercept torpedoes. [L.,—torpēre, to be stiff.]

Military DictionaryMilitary Dictionary and Gazetteer 💥

torpedo
During the war between Great Britain and the United States in 1812-14, this name was applied to certain mysterious boats invented by Fulton and other Americans for the purpose of navigating beneath the surface of the water, and injuring the bottom of hostile vessels. In those days of hand-to-hand naval war, these designs (which, by the way, were failures) were looked upon as little less than diabolical. The progress of destructive weapons during half a century has removed this aversion, and nations do not scruple now to employ similar unseen agents for offense and defense. The modern torpedo is really a stationary bomb-shell, intended to explode under the bottom of an enemy’s ship. The weapon was first used by the Russians in the Baltic in 1854; and in the American war of Secession, 1861-65, it was employed extensively, and often successfully. The damage effected by a torpedo exploding beneath a ship is very great; and although the failures are frequent by the explosion happening at a wrong moment, the danger from torpedoes is considerable in fact, and far more in apprehension, for sailors naturally dread navigating waters where destruction lurks at unknown points concealed from view. There are several varieties of torpedoes, but they may be divided into two classes,--those which are self-explosive on a ship touching them, and those which are dependent on an electric current supplied from the shore. The second are the safest for friendly vessels; but they are rather uncertain in action, and can only be employed at a moderate distance from the shore. The first are more certain in action, as they can only explode on a ship, being somewhere in contact, but they attack indiscriminately friend and foe.

Wikipedia

The torpedo, is an explosive projectile weapon that moves by itself (using a propeller), launched above or below the water surface, that goes underwater toward a target, and made to explode when it hits a target or is near to it. Torpedoes may be launched from submarines, surface ships, helicopters, aircraft, etc.