torpedo
part of speech
noun (a torpedo, torpedoes); verb (torpedo, torpedoes, torpedoed, torpedoing)
meaning for a pupil
1) A torpedo is a long, cigar-shaped weapon that moves underwater by itself and explodes when it hits a ship. tree →
2) To torpedo a ship is to hit it with a torpedo. tree →
3) To torpedo a plan (informal) is to ruin it completely. tree →
4) A torpedo ray is a fish that can give an electric shock. tree →
sense 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 →
- The ship was torpedoed in 1915. tree →
- The rain torpedoed our picnic plans. tree →
- Torpedoes travel just under the water's surface. tree →
- The dolphin shot through the water like a torpedo. tree →
- The torpedo ray stuns small fish with electricity. tree →
- Dey tells me dat it goes off like one er deze yer torpedoes." tree →
note
Plural: torpedoes (with -es). Past: torpedoed. The informal sense (to ruin) is common in news.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «torpedo» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.