[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/torpedo/)

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# torpedo

noun (a torpedo, torpedoes); verb (torpedo, torpedoes, torpedoed, torpedoing)

«torpedo» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A torpedo is a long, cigar-shaped weapon that moves underwater by itself and explodes when it hits a ship. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/#m1)
2. To torpedo a ship is to hit it with a torpedo. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/#m2)
3. To torpedo a plan (informal) is to ruin it completely. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/#m3)
4. A torpedo ray is a fish that can give an electric shock. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/#m4)

### In the lessons

In history lessons it comes up in both World Wars, with submarines and ships such as the Lusitania. In everyday talk, torpedoing a plan means wrecking it. Phrases: fire a torpedo, torpedo boat, torpedo a plan.

### Examples

- The submarine fired a torpedo at the warship. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/#x1)
- The ship was torpedoed in 1915. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/#x2)
- The rain torpedoed our picnic plans. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/#x3)
- Torpedoes travel just under the water's surface. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/#x4)
- The dolphin shot through the water like a torpedo. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/#x5)
- The torpedo ray stuns small fish with electricity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/#x6)
- Dey tells me dat it goes off like one er deze yer torpedoes." [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/#x7)

### Note

Plural: torpedoes (with -es). Past: torpedoed. The informal sense (to ruin) is common in news.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «torpedo» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/torpedo/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«torpedo» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/torpedo.html) on Mova free.