- [countable] a spacecraft in the shape of a tube that is driven by a stream of gases let out behind it when fuel is burned inside
- a space rocket
- The rocket was launched in 2007.
- The idea took off like a rocket (= it immediately became popular).
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- space
- launch
- blast off
- lift off
- take off
- …
- booster
- engine
- motor
- …
Definitions on the go
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- [countable] a missile (= a weapon that travels through the air) that carries a bomb and is driven by a stream of burning gases
- a rocket attack
- A rocket smashed into the side of the building.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- long-range
- anti-aircraft
- anti-tank
- …
- fire
- shoot
- explode
- hit something
- strike something
- …
- attack
- launcher
- pod
- …
- [countable] a firework that goes high into the air and then explodes with coloured lights
- [uncountable] (British English) (North American English arugula)a plant with long green leaves that have a strong taste and are eaten raw in salads
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 3 early 17th cent.: from French roquette, from Italian rocchetto, diminutive of rocca ‘distaff (for spinning)’, with reference to its cylindrical shape. noun sense 4 late 15th cent.: from French roquette, from Italian ruchetta, diminutive of ruca, from Latin eruca ‘downy-stemmed plant’.
Idioms
See rocket in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryto give somebody a rocket | to get a rocket
- (British English, informal, old-fashioned) to speak angrily to somebody because they have done something wrong; to be spoken to angrily for this reason
Check pronunciation:
rocket