cannonball

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cannon +‎ ball from being a round ball that is fired from a cannon.

cannonball (plural cannonballs)

1. (military, artillery)
   1. A spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore cannon

      Synonyms: solid shot, ball, round shot

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

From behaving like a cannonball fired from a cannon

cannonball (plural cannonballs)

1. (diving) The act of running and jumping in a flexed position into a swimming pool to create a large splash, mimicking the flight and shape of a cannonball.

   The cannonball could be called the S.U.V. of the pool — oversized, brash, hormonally hardwired.

   • The New Yorker, 30 August 2004, p.40

2. (slang, figuratively) Something that moves fast.

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

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

(diving):

• jack-knife
• bellyflop
• backflop
• rip entry

cannonball (third-person singular simple present cannonballs, present participle cannonballing, simple past and past participle cannonballed)

1. To jump/dive into water doing a cannonball landing.

   He cannonballed into the pool, drenching us all.

2. To careen; to move rapidly

cannonball!

1. Yelled when jumping/diving into the water, doing a cannonball landing.