Definition: torpedo

Source: WordNet (r) 1.7

torpedo
     n 1: a professional killer who uses a gun [syn: gunman, gunslinger,
           hired gun, gun, triggerman, hit man, shooter]
     2: 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 [syn: bomber, grinder,
         hero, hero sandwich, hoagie, hoagy, Cuban
        sandwich, Italian sandwich, poor boy, sub, submarine,
         submarine sandwich, wedge, zep]
     3: armament consisting of a long cylindrical self-propelled
        underwater projectile that detonates on contact with a
        target
     4: 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 [syn: electric ray, crampfish, numbfish]
     v : attack or hit with torpedoes

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Torpedo \Tor*pe"do\, n.
   An automobile with a torpedo body. [Cant]

Torpedo \Tor*pe"do\, n.; pl. Torpedoes. [L. torpedo, -inis,
   from torpere to be stiff, numb, or torpid. See Torpid.]
   1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch
      fishes belonging to Torpedo and allied genera. They are
      related to the rays, but have the power of giving
      electrical shocks. Called also crampfish, and
      numbfish. See Electrical fish, under Electrical.

   Note: The common European torpedo (T. vulgaris) and the
         American species (T. occidentalis) are the best
         known.

   2. An engine or machine for destroying ships by blowing them
      up. Specifically:
      (a) A quantity of explosives anchored in a channel,
          beneath the water, or set adrift in a current, and so
          arranged that they will be exploded when touched by a
          vessel, or when an electric circuit is closed by an
          operator on shore.
      (b) A kind of small submarine boat carrying an explosive
          charge, and projected from a ship against another ship
          at a distance, or made self-propelling, and otherwise
          automatic in its action against a distant ship.

   3. (Mil.) A kind of shell or cartridge buried in earth, to be
      exploded by electricity or by stepping on it.

   4. (Railroad) A kind of detonating cartridge or shell placed
      on a rail, and exploded when crushed under the locomotive
      wheels, -- used as an alarm signal.

   5. An explosive cartridge or shell lowered or dropped into a
      bored oil well, and there exploded, to clear the well of
      obstructions or to open communication with a source of
      supply of oil.

   6. A kind of firework in the form of a small ball, or pellet,
      which explodes when thrown upon a hard object.

   Fish torpedo, a spindle-shaped, or fish-shaped,
      self-propelling submarine torpedo.

   Spar torpedo, a canister or other vessel containing an
      explosive charge, and attached to the end of a long spar
      which projects from a ship or boat and is thrust against
      an enemy's ship, exploding the torpedo.

   Torpedo boat, a vessel adapted for carrying, launching,
      operating, or otherwise making use of, torpedoes against
      an enemy's ship.

Torpedo \Tor*pe"do\, v. t.
   to destroy by, or subject to the action of, a torpedo.
   --London Spectator.