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Noun: torpedo (torpedoes)  tor'pee-dow
  1. A professional killer who uses a gun
    - gunman, gunslinger, hired gun, gun, gun for hire, triggerman, hit man, hitman, shooter
     
  2. [US] A large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States
    - bomber [US, informal], grinder [US, informal], hero [N. Amer], hero sandwich [N. Amer], hoagie [N. Amer], hoagy [N. Amer], Cuban sandwich [N. Amer], Italian sandwich [N. Amer], poor boy [N. Amer], sub [N. Amer, informal], submarine [N. Amer], submarine sandwich [N. Amer], wedge [US, informal], zep [N. Amer]
     
  3. An explosive device that is set off in an oil well (or a gas well) to start or to increase the flow of oil (or gas)
     
  4. A small firework that consists of a percussion cap and some gravel wrapped in paper; explodes when thrown forcefully against a hard surface
     
  5. A small explosive device that is placed on a railway track and fires when a train runs over it; the sound of the explosion warns the engineer of danger ahead
     
  6. Armament consisting of a long cylindrical self-propelled underwater projectile that detonates on contact with a target
     
  7. Any sluggish bottom-dwelling ray of the order Torpediniformes having a rounded body and electric organs on each side of the head capable of emitting strong electric discharges
    - electric ray, crampfish, numbfish
Verb: torpedo  tor'pee-dow
  1. Attack or hit with torpedoes

Derived forms: torpedoed, torpedoes, torpedoing

Type of: alarm, alarum [archaic], alert, armament, assail, attack, explosive device, firework, liquidator, manslayer, murderer, pyrotechnic, ray, sandwich, sarnie [Brit, informal], warning signal

Part of: family Torpedinidae, Torpedinidae

Encyclopedia: Torpedo, Pennsylvania