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Glite Dictionary
aerial torpedo

aerial torpedo

1 9.1
A weapon released from a plane that moves under water to hit ships or submarines
  • noun
  • /ˈɛəriəl tɔrˈpiːdoʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : torpedo aéreo
  • The new bomber was specifically designed to carry and deploy aerial torpedoes.

Examples

  • Technological advances have made the traditional aerial torpedo less common in modern warfare.

  • The military demonstrated how an aerial torpedo can be used to target ships from the sky.

  • During World War II, the Allies made extensive use of aerial torpedoes to damage enemy ships.

  • The military developed the aerial torpedo for naval warfare.

  • Did the navy deploy any aerial torpedoes during the exercise?

  • During World War II, the aircraft successfully launched an aerial torpedo against an enemy submarine.

  • An aerial torpedo hit the battleship, causing significant damage to its hull.

Surface Forms

aerial torpedo singular
aerial torpedoes plural

Morphology

aerial + torpedo

The meaning 'a torpedo designed to be launched from an aircraft' is directly derivable from combining 'aerial' (relating to the air or aircraft) with 'torpedo' (an underwater missile). This modifier + noun composition follows normal semantic composition patterns across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The noun aerial torpedo comes from the simple image of a torpedo dropped from a plane, with aerial meaning 'from the air'. So the name means a torpedo made to be 'launched from the air' and used against targets on or under the water.