Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
💥 To bounce off 💥 A bouncing shot
to ricochet

to ricochet

24 7.7
To bounce off a surface at an angle after hitting it
  • verb
  • /ˈrɪkəˌʃeɪ/
: rebotar
  • The nail struck a nearby wall, ricocheted back toward him, and struck him in the head.

I remember here right next to my mouth and ricocheted down my back.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The bullet ricocheted off the wall and narrowly missed him.

  • You don't want it ricocheting back into the room.

    Hotel Mumbai (2019)

  • "Will that thing ricochet?" I said, "Not till it hits a rock."

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Everything ricochets off that truck.

    Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017)

  • Apparently, a piece of the glass from the bottle had ricocheted back and hit him.

    William S. Burroughs: A Man Within (2010)

  • One rock ricocheted off a street sign, then bounced off the wall below Amanda.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • In cart 1 - Mason and Goodspeed duck as bullets ricochet around the tunnel walls.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • A shot rings out and ricochets off a piece of piping right over Marshall's head.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The voices of hundreds of convicts ricocheted off the steel bars, creating a thunderous din.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Chief and Vernon open fire with their automatics, their bullets ricocheting off the android's titanium shell.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

to bounce
vsto ricochet
391 1.3

To move quickly away from a surface after hitting it, moving up and down in a springy way

is narrower, stressing off‑angle departure rather than general lively motion
to bounce off
vsto ricochet
70 3.4

To hit a surface and move away from it

is specifically about leaving at an angle rather than any rebound
to spring
vsto ricochet
27 1.0

To move suddenly by jumping, leaping, or bouncing

describes hitting and leaving a surface at an angle rather than jumping
to rebound
vsto ricochet
4 2.9

To spring back after hitting something

is about bouncing off at an angle rather than any simple return
to carom
vsto ricochet
  • US
2 9.5

To bounce off something and move away at an angle

focuses on angled deflection similarly but applies more to projectiles
to bound
vsto ricochet
1 4.4

To hit a surface and bounce away

emphasizes angled departure more than general springing back
to spang
vsto ricochet
1 9.9

To hit and bounce off with a sharp sound

involves the same angled departure but not always a loud sound

How Bouncy

to ricochet
24 7.7
to rebound
4 2.9
to deflect
79 4.6
to glance
7 4.4

Surface Forms

ricochet infinitive
ricocheted past
ricocheted past participle
ricocheting present participle
ricochets third person singular

Etymology

Ricochet comes from the same French sound word for a quick bounce. That's why to ricochet means to 'bounce' off a surface, often at an angle, rather than stopping.