Fast-moving projectiles propelled by engines that burn fuel, used for space exploration or as weapons.
From Italian 'rocchetta' (small spindle), which described the cylindrical shape of early gunpowder-propelled missiles invented in China around the 10th century.
Rockets work by Newton's Third Law—the force of burning fuel pushing backward creates an equal force pushing the rocket forward—which is why they're the only vehicles that can work in the vacuum of space where there's nothing to push against!
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