bazooka

noun

ba·​zoo·​ka bə-ˈzü-kə 

: a light portable antitank weapon consisting of an open-breech smoothbore firing tube that launches an armor-piercing rocket and is fired from the shoulder

Examples of bazooka in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s because there’s a patient with unexploded ammunition in his chest—and a terrified paramedic, played by Christina Ricci, has her hand inside, holding the homemade bazooka steady. —Annabel Gutterman, TIME, 26 Sep. 2024

Set them up for success with chopsticks, a rice paddle, sauce dishes, a sushi knife, a sushi bazooka, and more. —Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Sep. 2024

Ueda’s predecessor Haruhiko Kuroda launched a shock-and-awe stimulus bazooka in April 2013 with the aim of achieving 2% inflation in two years. —Toru Fujioka, Fortune Asia, 19 Mar. 2024

This week’s military projectile discovery was an old, heavily deteriorated bazooka round potentially from the World War II era, the state police spokesman, Dave Procopio, told CNN on Wednesday. —Nic F. Anderson, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

after bazooka, a brass instrument popularized by the radio comedian Bob Burns during the 1930's, probably extended form of bazoo "kazoo," of imitative origin

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

bazooka

noun

ba·​zoo·​ka bə-ˈzü-kə 

: a light portable shoulder weapon that consists of an open tube and shoots an explosive rocket able to pierce the armor of tanks

Etymology

from bazooka, name of a homemade musical instrument consisting of pipes and a funnel