Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Ricochet
Ricˊo-chet′
,Noun.
[F.]
1.
A rebound or skipping, as of a bullet bouncing off a hard surface, or off the ground when a gun is fired at a low angle of elevation, or of a flat stone thrown along the surface of water.
Ricochet firing
(Mil.)
, the firing of guns or howitzers, usually with small charges, at an elevation of only a few degrees, so as to cause the balls or shells to bound or skip along the ground.
Ricˊo-chet′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Ricochetted
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Ricochetting
.] To operate upon by ricochet firing. See
Ricochet
, Noun.
[R.]
Ricˊo-chet′
,Verb.
I.
To skip with a rebound or rebounds, as a flat stone on the surface of water, or a cannon ball on the ground. See
Ricochet
, Noun.
Webster 1828 Edition
Ricochet
RIC'OCHET
,Noun.
Definition 2024
ricochet
ricochet
English
Noun
ricochet (plural ricochets)
- (military) A method of firing a projectile so that it skips along a surface.
- An instance of ricocheting; a glancing rebound.
Translations
an instance of ricocheting
Verb
ricochet (third-person singular simple present ricochets, present participle ricocheting or ricochetting, simple past and past participle ricocheted or ricochetted)
- To rebound off something wildly in a seemingly random direction.
- (military) To operate upon by ricochet firing.
Translations
To rebound
French
Etymology
Origin uncertain.
- The word first appears in the phrases chanson du/de riochet, fable du ricochet. This is apparently related to other story-titles such as the fable du rouge kokelet; other dialectal terms such as ripoton (“duckling”) and Norman recoquet (“chick”) has led to theories that the word originally indicated a "young cock". The sense-development is unclear.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʁikɔʃɛ/
Noun
ricochet m (plural ricochets)