impactor
noun
im·pac·tor
im-ˈpak-tər 
variants
or impacter
1
: a machine (such as a steam or air hammer or a pile driver) or part that operates by striking blows
2
Examples of impactor in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The new standard would subject vehicles to a pair of tests, one using an impactor (or crash test head) representing a six-year-old child and another representing a 50th-percentile male.
—
Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 9 Sep. 2024
Now, new research has dug up an even more calamitous collision in our solar system’s distant past: An asteroid 20 times the size of the Chicxulub impactor wreaked planetary-scale havoc four billion years ago.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Sep. 2024
The huge space rock known as the Chicxulub impactor is widely believed to have ended the reign of non-avian dinosaurs, altering the planet's climate and paving the way for mammals to rise from the proverbial ashes.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 16 Aug. 2024
Yet the Chicxulub impactor fell relatively recently in geologic history.
—Byadam Mann, science.org, 15 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impactor 
Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 9 Sep. 2024
Now, new research has dug up an even more calamitous collision in our solar system’s distant past: An asteroid 20 times the size of the Chicxulub impactor wreaked planetary-scale havoc four billion years ago.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Sep. 2024
The huge space rock known as the Chicxulub impactor is widely believed to have ended the reign of non-avian dinosaurs, altering the planet's climate and paving the way for mammals to rise from the proverbial ashes.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 16 Aug. 2024
Yet the Chicxulub impactor fell relatively recently in geologic history.
—Byadam Mann, science.org, 15 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for impactor
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impactor.' 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
“Impactor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impactor. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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