: a rocket-propelled bomb of German invention

Examples of V-2 in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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This work with von Braun and the German Army was not the only effort that connected Alwin Walther with slave labor, like that from German concentration camps exploited in the V-2 rocket factories. IEEE Spectrum, 9 Feb. 2021 While modest in size next to Europe's Ariane launcher family, Isar's Spectrum is the largest German rocket since the V-2, the World War II weapon of terror launched by Nazi Germany against targets in Great Britain, Belgium, and other places. Ars Technica, 23 Mar. 2025 Alternative options have always existed—imperial Germany used Zeppelin airships in World War I to subdue the city of London, and Nazi Germany developed V-1 cruise missiles and V-2 ballistic missiles in World War II. Raphael S. Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 18 Feb. 2025 In contrast, Soviet engineers developed a rocket more closely based on the V-2, opting for a simple satellite that would merely broadcast its presence. Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Jan. 2025 The scene in Oppenheimer in which Borden recalls being in a plane, watching German V-2 rockets fly overhead toward England, is so crucial for your character, who became obsessed with the strategic implications of such weapons for U.S. security. Isaac Feldberg, Vulture, 19 Apr. 2024 Many of them had been forced to work as slaves on the V-2 projects. John Wenz, Discover Magazine, 24 July 2018 This launched the beginning of V-2 rocket development in the 1930s and ultimately led to the bombing of Britain during World War II, the development of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, and ultimately Sputnik and the space race of the 1960s. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 5 Aug. 2023 During World War II, the development of missiles like the V-2 helped offensive operations, while a technology like radar bolstered defense. Mustafa Suleyman, WIRED, 6 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

German, abbreviation for Vergeltungswaffe 2, literally, reprisal weapon 2

First Known Use

1944, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of V-2 was in 1944

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Cite this Entry

“V-2.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/V-2. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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