noun
bazooka
buh-ZOO-kuh
noun
1
A shoulder-fired weapon that launches rockets, originally developed to destroy tanks.
"The soldier shouldered the bazooka and took aim at the tank."
2
Informally, a very large financial rescue package or show of force meant to end a crisis quickly.
"Analysts called the central bank's huge stimulus plan a "monetary bazooka.""
How to Use Bazooka
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA rocket-launching weapon, or — used loosely — a huge, decisive intervention meant to solve a big problem fast.
Common pairings
fire a bazooka
monetary bazooka
reach for the bazooka
Word Forms
bazookaed past tense, bazookas plural, bazookas singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “bazooka”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The soldier shouldered the _____ and took aim at the tank.
Etymology
Named after an earlier slang term for a crude trombone-like instrument, itself from a Dutch word for "trumpet"; the finance sense appeared during the European debt crisis around 2010.