Definition of "cannonball" in English

noun

1. A spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore cannon.

2. An explosive-filled hollow iron sphere fused through a hole and intended to explode at a calculated distance rather than explode on impact.

3. (diving) The act of jumping (typically into a swimming pool) with the legs bent and the arms wrapped around the knees to create a large splash, mimicking the flight and shape of a cannonball.

   • The New Yorker, 30 August 2004, p.40
   • The cannonball could be called the S.U.V. of the pool — oversized, brash, hormonally hardwired.

4. (slang, figuratively) Something that moves fast, especially a fast train.

   • Meetings of the model train club always begin with the song "Wabash Cannonball".

5. (tennis) A served ball that travels with great speed and describes little or no arc in flight.

verb

1. (intransitive) To jump or dive into water, performing a cannonball landing.

   • He cannonballed into the pool, drenching us all.

2. (intransitive) To career; to move rapidly.

   • The car cannonballed past.