V-2

or V-two

[ vee-too ]

noun

, plural V-2's.

1. a liquid-fueled rocket used as a ballistic missile by the Germans, mainly against London, late in World War II.

V-2

noun

1. a rocket-powered ballistic missile invented by the Germans in World War II: used esp to bombard London. It used ethanol as fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer

Word History and Origins

Origin of V-2¹

see V-1

Example Sentences

Von Braun oversaw the German army’s rocket program, culminating in the development of the world’s first guided long-range ballistic missile: the V-2.

From Slate

During World War II, he oversaw the construction of the V-2 missiles that bombarded England.

From Scientific American

In February 1944, Litherland was co-piloting a B-17F Flying Fortress that was struck by anti-aircraft fire after a bombing raid on a German V-2 rocket site in Bois-Coquerel, France.

From Seattle Times

Von Braun, who supervised the V-2 weapon program for the Third Reich and once calculated the number of slave laborers needed for more efficient production of the system, went on to supervise America’s Saturn V moon rocket.

From Los Angeles Times

If history is any guide, the latest attacks will further stiffen Ukrainian resolve, just as the V-2 campaign 78 years ago galvanized the British people.

From Washington Post