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Stinger

Stinger

22 9.6
A small guided missile fired from the shoulder to hit low-flying aircraft
  • noun
  • /ˈstɪŋər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : misil tierra-aire portátil
  • Two days later, one of those Stingers shot down a 747 out of Islamabad.
  • Stinger missile

You know, when we gave them Stingers, they they had to leave.

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Examples

  • We have Stinger missiles.

  • Sarah was with a group of military-clad Guatemalan men, standing next to cases of Stinger missiles.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • You know, it was an open source statement or rule that we're always looking for Stinger missiles or surface to air missiles.

  • Gentlemen, this weapon I have here in my hand, differs in some small things from a stinger.

  • The Daily Caller picked up a story last week reported by Russian news that Stinger missiles are in Syrian hands.

    Blog text (16)
  • And one of the things that we did to defeat the Russians was to provide Stinger missiles to the Afghan Mujahideen.

  • U.S. administrations had committed a small number of CIA advisors, as well as weapons, notably man-portable Stinger anti-air missiles, to the anti-Soviet mujahideen.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The soldier expertly aimed the Stinger missile at the low-flying aircraft overhead.

  • During the training exercise, they practiced launching a Stinger missile from their shoulders.

  • After months of preparation, the team successfully deployed a Stinger missile in a live fire demonstration.

Synonyms

surface-to-air missile
vsStinger
  • Specialized
19 6.3

A weapon launched from the ground or a ship to destroy aircraft in the sky

is the smaller shoulder-fired variant using heat guidance and impact fuse
heat-seeking missile
vsStinger
  • Specialized
4 5.0

A weapon that follows the heat from a plane's engine to hit it

is the portable shoulder-launched type that uses this guidance and impact fuse
SAM
vsStinger
  • Specialized
3 6.0

A missile fired from land or a ship to hit aircraft

is the shoulder-fired, heat-homing variant designed for low flying aircraft
MANPAD
vsStinger
  • Specialized
1 9.6

A shoulder-fired missile one person carries to hit low-flying aircraft

is the portable form that also homes on heat for low aircraft
surface-to-air missile system
vsStinger
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A set of weapons and equipment that shoots rockets at planes

is an individual portable launch weapon rather than a full coordinated system

Surface Forms

Stinger singular
Stingers plural

Morphology

Stinger = sting (semi-transparent) = sting + er

The formation 'sting' + '-er' is a regular agent/nominalizing suffix producing 'one that stings' or an object that stings.

Etymology

Stinger comes from the verb sting, meaning 'to prick', plus -er meaning 'one that does'. So a Stinger is named like an insect's sting, a small, sharp weapon fired from the shoulder to hit low-flying aircraft.