From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishballisticbal‧lis‧tic /bəˈlɪstɪk/ adjective → go ballistic
Examples from the Corpus
ballistic• The Western hemisphere would soon be in range of and vulnerable to Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles, carrying megaton warheads.• Several time zones away, a nuclear submarine conducted a surprise test-firing of two long-range ballistic missiles.• The commission was expected to recommend the on-site destruction of ballistic missiles.• The Wyoming was carrying only nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.• We must consider whether it would be desirable or possible to do so to sea-launched ballistic missiles.• We will in addition work for a global ban on chemical and biological weapons and stronger controls to prevent proliferation of ballistic missiles.Origin ballistic (1900-2000) ballistic “of ballistics” ((18-21 centuries)), from Latin ballista “weapon for throwing large rocks”, from Greek, from ballein “to throw” 