Illustration of catapult
- catapult 1
cat·a·pult
ˈka-tə-ˌpəlt 
-ˌpu̇lt
1
: an ancient military device for hurling missiles
2
: a device for launching an airplane at flying speed (as from an aircraft carrier)
catapulted; catapulting; catapults
: to throw or launch by or as if by a catapult
: to become catapulted
he catapulted to fame
Synonyms
Examples of catapult in a Sentence
Verb
They catapulted rocks toward the castle.
The publicity catapulted her CD to the top of the charts.
The novel catapulted him from unknown to best-selling author.
He catapulted to fame after his first book was published.
Her career was catapulting ahead.
Recent Examples on the Web
Seth G. Jones, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2024
The catapult is chaotic fun and destructive while the crossbow is more of a skill shot that was fun to watch the young ones master.
—Rob Wieland, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024
Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 18 Oct. 2024
By the numbers: The unprecedented fall heat wave catapulted the city to the top of the rankings for the number of days in a single year with high temperatures that reached or exceeded 110°F.
—Andrew Freedman, Axios, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for catapult 
Noun
The design of the Fujian features an electromagnetic catapult launch system for aircraft, which allows for more comprehensive air operations, making the carrier more capable than previous Chinese models.
—Seth G. Jones, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2024
The catapult is chaotic fun and destructive while the crossbow is more of a skill shot that was fun to watch the young ones master.
—Rob Wieland, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024
Verb
Companies in which executives encourage endeavors into uncharted territories and side projects or scrutinize existing operations to identify new tacks can catapult to the forefront of market trends.
—Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 18 Oct. 2024
By the numbers: The unprecedented fall heat wave catapulted the city to the top of the rankings for the number of days in a single year with high temperatures that reached or exceeded 110°F.
—Andrew Freedman, Axios, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for catapult
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'catapult.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Catapult.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catapult. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
catapult
1 of 2 noun
cat·a·pult
ˈkat-ə-ˌpəlt
-ˌpu̇lt
1
: an ancient military device for hurling missiles
2
: a device for launching an airplane (as from the deck of an aircraft carrier)
catapult
2 of 2 verb1
: to throw or launch by or as if by a catapult
2
: to become catapulted
he catapulted to fame
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