catapultEnglishOxford American Thesauruscatapult noun British a 16-year-old boy fired a catapult at a low-flying helicopter: sling; North American slingshot; Australian, New Zealand shanghai.verb Sam felt himself being catapulted into the sea: propel, launch, hurl, hurtle, fling, send flying, send, let fly, let loose, fire, blast, shoot.