ROCKET

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does rocket mean? 

• ROCKET (noun)
  The noun ROCKET has 5 senses:

1. any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine

2. a jet engine containing its own propellant and driven by reaction propulsion

3. erect European annual often grown as a salad crop to be harvested when young and tender

4. propels bright light high in the sky, or used to propel a lifesaving line or harpoon

5. sends a firework display high into the sky

  Familiarity information: ROCKET used as a noun is common.

• ROCKET (verb)
  The verb ROCKET has 2 senses:

1. shoot up abruptly, like a rocket

2. propel with a rocket

  Familiarity information: ROCKET used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ROCKET (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

projectile; rocket

Hypernyms ("rocket" is a kind of...):

vehicle (a conveyance that transports people or objects)

Meronyms (parts of "rocket"):

rocket; rocket engine (a jet engine containing its own propellant and driven by reaction propulsion)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rocket"):

missile (a rocket carrying a warhead of conventional or nuclear explosives; may be ballistic or directed by remote control)

multistage rocket; step rocket (a rocket having two or more rocket engines (each with its own fuel) that are fired in succession and jettisoned when the fuel is exhausted)

research rocket; test instrument vehicle; test rocket (a rocket fired for test purposes)

Derivation:

rocket (propel with a rocket)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A jet engine containing its own propellant and driven by reaction propulsion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

rocket; rocket engine

Hypernyms ("rocket" is a kind of...):

jet engine (a gas turbine produces a stream of hot gas that propels a jet plane by reaction propulsion)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rocket"):

booster; booster rocket; booster unit; takeoff booster; takeoff rocket (the first stage of a multistage rocket)

nuclear rocket (a rocket engine in which a nuclear reactor is used to heat a propellant)

retrorocket (a small rocket engine on a larger rocket or spacecraft that is fired to slow or alter its course)

space rocket (a rocket powerful enough to travel into outer space)

thruster (a small rocket engine that provides the thrust needed to maneuver a spacecraft)

Holonyms ("rocket" is a part of...):

projectile; rocket (any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Erect European annual often grown as a salad crop to be harvested when young and tender

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

arugula; Eruca sativa; Eruca vesicaria sativa; garden rocket; rocket; rocket salad; roquette

Hypernyms ("rocket" is a kind of...):

herb; herbaceous plant (a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests)

Holonyms ("rocket" is a member of...):

Eruca; genus Eruca (annual to perennial herbs of the Mediterranean region)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Propels bright light high in the sky, or used to propel a lifesaving line or harpoon

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

rocket; skyrocket

Hypernyms ("rocket" is a kind of...):

visual signal (a signal that involves visual communication)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Sends a firework display high into the sky

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

rocket; skyrocket

Hypernyms ("rocket" is a kind of...):

firework; pyrotechnic ((usually plural) a device with an explosive that burns at a low rate and with colored flames; can be used to illuminate areas or send signals etc.)

• ROCKET (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they rocket    ... he / she / it rockets   
Past simple: rocketed   
Past participle: rocketed   
-ing form: rocketing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Shoot up abruptly, like a rocket

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

rocket; skyrocket

Context example:

prices skyrocketed

Hypernyms (to "rocket" is one way to...):

arise; come up; go up; lift; move up; rise; uprise (move upward)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Propel with a rocket

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "rocket" is one way to...):

impel; propel (cause to move forward with force)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

rocket (any vehicle self-propelled by a rocket engine)

rocketry (the branch of engineering science that studies rocket design and operation)

 Context examples 

At the same instant I saw him raise his hand and at the signal I tossed my rocket into the room with a cry of “Fire!”

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You will, no doubt, have the opportunity of describing in the Field how you brought down the rocketing dimorphodon.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

With little room to spare aboard a spacecraft, any human missions to Mars will have to harvest what's already available for drinking water and making rocket fuel.

(NASA's Treasure Map for Water Ice on Mars, NASA)

Meanwhile, X-ray astronomers were getting their first look at the sky using sounding rockets and orbiting satellites, which revealed a million-degree X-ray glow coming from all directions.

(Evidence for supernovas near Earth, NASA)

They plan to launch the vehicles from Cape Canaveral next year on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket.

(Moon to Get Its Own Mobile Network, VOA)

Because the nucleus is so small, these jets act like rocket engines, spinning up the comet’s rotation.

(Hubble Takes Close-up Look at Disintegrating Comet, NASA)

When I think of this deggerredation, I feel that I can bear even my flat nose and purple gown with yellow sky-rockets on it.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the spacecraft carried out a rocket motor burn that boosted its velocity by 0.4 meters per second (less than 1 mile per hour).

(NASA Orbiter Steers Clear of Mars Moon Phobos, NASA)

About 55 minutes after launch, the asteroid sampling spacecraft separated from the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fueled second stage rocket to fly free.

(Evening Launch Catapults OSIRIS-REx Toward Asteroid Encounter, NASA)

There they found the flung-out debris from the explosive birth of this clump of massive stars, looking like a cosmic version of fireworks with giant streamers rocketing off in all directions.

(Dramatic Stellar Fireworks of Star Birth, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)