释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024tor•pe•do /tɔrˈpidoʊ/USA pronunciation n., pl. -does, v., -doed, -do•ing. n. [countable] - Militarya high-explosive, underwater tube that is self-propelled, usually launched from a submarine or other warship against surface vessels.
- Informal Termsa hero sandwich.
v. [~ + object] - to attack, hit, damage, or destroy with torpedoes:The battleship was torpedoed and sunk.
- to attack, ruin, or destroy:He torpedoed all our plans.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024tor•pe•do (tôr pē′dō),USA pronunciation n., pl. -does, v., -doed, -do•ing. n. - a self-propelled, cigar-shaped missile containing explosives and often equipped with a homing device, launched from a submarine or other warship, for destroying surface vessels or other submarines.
- any of various submarine explosive devices for destroying hostile ships, as a mine.
- a cartridge of gunpowder, dynamite, or the like, exploded in an oil well to facilitate the extraction of oil from the well.
- a detonating device fastened to the top of a rail so as to be exploded by the pressure of a locomotive or car, thus giving an audible signal to members of a train crew.
- any of various other explosive devices, as a firework that consists of an explosive wrapped up with gravel in a piece of tissue paper and that detonates when thrown forcibly on the ground or against a hard surface.
- Also called torpe′do fish′. an electric ray, esp. Torpedo nobiliana, of the Atlantic Ocean.
- an electric catfish, Malapterurus electricus, inhabiting waters of tropical central Africa and the Nile valley.
- [Informal.]a hero sandwich.
- [Slang.]a gangster hired as a murderer.
v.t. - to attack, hit, damage, or destroy with torpedoes.
- to explode a torpedo in (an oil well) to facilitate the extraction of oil.
- to undermine, ruin, or destroy:He torpedoed our plans.
v.i. - to attack, damage, or sink a ship with torpedoes.
- Latin torpēdō numbness, torpidity, electric ray, equivalent. to torpē(re) to be stiff (see torpid1) + -dō noun, nominal suffix
- 1510–20
tor•pe ′do•like′, adj. Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: torpedo /tɔːˈpiːdəʊ/ n ( pl -does)- a cylindrical self-propelled weapon carrying explosives that is launched from aircraft, ships, or submarines and follows an underwater path to hit its target
- obsolete a submarine mine
- US Canadian a firework containing gravel and a percussion cap that explodes when dashed against a hard surface
- any of various electric rays of the genus Torpedo
vb ( -does, -doing, -doed)(transitive)- to hit (a ship, etc) with one or a number of torpedoes
- to render ineffective; destroy or wreck: to torpedo the administration's plan
Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin: crampfish (whose electric discharges can cause numbness), from torpēre to be inactive; see torpidtorˈpedo-ˌlike adj |