hypersonic

CEFRB2

/hˌaɪpəˈrsɑnɪk/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Moving faster than five times the speed of sound.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Of a speed, equal to, or greater than, or capable of achieving, five times the speed of sound.

Examples

  • The United States has no defense against hypersonic missiles.

  • The United States has no defense against hypersonic weapons.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Of a speed, far enough above the speed of sound as to cause significant differences in behaviour due to chemical reactions or dissociation of the air.

More examples

In context

  • He said there was worry among intelligence and military officials that China or Russia could be experimenting with hypersonic technology.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The military successfully tested a new missile that can travel at blank speeds.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From hyper- + sonic. Doublet of supersonic.