missileer

noun
mis·​sil·​eer | \ ˌmi-sə-ˈlir How to pronounce missileer (audio) \

Definition of missileer

Examples of missileer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These are risky tactics at a time when the Persian Gulf is thick with American military aircraft and Iranian missileers are likely to have twitchy trigger fingers. The Economist, "America claims to have downed an Iranian drone," 19 July 2019 Associated security forces operate from a building above ground at each missile silo to protect the missileers and their equipment down below. Paul Sonne, Washington Post, "Force that protects U.S. nuclear weapons loses explosives on North Dakota road, offers $5,000 to get them back," 15 May 2018 Air Force missileers have stood watch over our nuclear weapons since the 1970s. Stephanie Gosk, NBC News, "The Missileers: Air Force has trained 247 women for nuclear launch," 12 Jan. 2018 The pair of missileers would each grip two triangular switches, eyes fixed to a red digital clock ticking away between the consoles. Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Meet the Airmen Who Watch Over America's Nukes—And Await the Unthinkable," 23 Mar. 2011 Though women are notoriously underrepresented in the military, there's a disproportionally high number of female missileers; by March 2016, there were enough of them to schedule an all-female alert. Valentina Zarya, Fortune, "Uber’s CEO Says Sorry, Gloria Allred’s Glory Days, Top Women in Banking," 26 Sep. 2017 Newbie missileers are assigned to eight shifts a month. Danielle Mcnally, Marie Claire, "These Women Are the Last Thing Standing Between You and Nuclear War," 8 Sep. 2017 Though women are notoriously underrepresented in the military, there's a disproportionally high number of female missileers Valentina Zarya, Fortune, "Uber’s CEO Says Sorry, Gloria Allred’s Glory Days, Top Women in Banking," 26 Sep. 2017 In a favorite missileer uniform patch (right), the Grim Reaper sits at an ICBM console, dressed in bunny slippers. John Noonan, WIRED, "In Nuclear Silos, Death Wears a Snuggie," 14 Jan. 2011

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'missileer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of missileer

1958, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more