hypersonic
What is another word for hypersonic? Here is its meaning, with related words and examples.
Adjective — Travelling at, or capable of, at least five times the speed of sound.
Antonyms
subsonic
How to use hypersonic
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
hypersonic speed
hypersonic missile
hypersonic flight
hypersonic aircraft
Hypersonic is a specialist term from aviation and defence writing rather than everyday speech.
Etymology
Hypersonic combines the prefix hyper-, meaning beyond or above, with sonic, relating to sound. It is a doublet of supersonic, meaning the two words ultimately share the same root elements.
Full origin of hypersonic →Frequently asked questions
What does hypersonic mean?
Hypersonic describes speeds of at least five times the speed of sound, or the aircraft and weapons that can reach them.
Is hypersonic the same as supersonic?
No. Supersonic simply means faster than the speed of sound, while hypersonic refers to much higher speeds, at least five times as fast, where the air itself starts to behave differently.
Why is hypersonic speed hard to achieve?
At these speeds the air around a vehicle heats up and can undergo chemical changes, which makes hypersonic flight far more demanding to engineer than ordinary supersonic flight.
