cannonball

English

Etymology

cannon +‎ ball from being a round ball that is fired from a cannon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkænənˌbɔːl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

cannonball (plural cannonballs)

1. (military, weaponry)
   1. A spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore cannon.

      Synonyms: solid shot, ball, round shot

   2. An explosive-filled hollow iron sphere fused through a hole and intended to explode at a calculated distance rather than explode on impact.
2. (diving) The act of jumping (typically into a swimming pool) with the legs bent and the arms wrapped around the knees to create a large splash, mimicking the flight and shape of a cannonball.
   • The New Yorker, 30 August 2004, p.40
   • The cannonball could be called the S.U.V. of the pool — oversized, brash, hormonally hardwired.
3. (slang, figuratively) Something that moves fast, especially a fast train.

   Meetings of the model train club always begin with the song "Wabash Cannonball".

4. (tennis) A served ball that travels with great speed and describes little or no arc in flight.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

(diving):

• jack-knife
• bellyflop
• backflop
• rip entry

Verb

cannonball (third-person singular simple present cannonballs, present participle cannonballing, simple past and past participle cannonballed)

1. (intransitive) To jump or dive into water, performing a cannonball landing.

   He cannonballed into the pool, drenching us all.

2. (intransitive) To career; to move rapidly.

   The car cannonballed past.

Translations