Word.ws English Dictionary

retropropulsion

retropropulsion noun: backward propulsion, especially the use of rockets to brake or change direction. Also the alternative form of retropulsion.

Noun

retropropulsion (countable and uncountable, plural retropropulsions)

  1. Backward propulsion, especially the use of rockets to brake or change direction.
    • Recent studies have concluded that Viking-era entry system deceleration technologies are extremely difficult to scale for progressively larger payloads (tens of metric tons) required for human Mars exploration. Supersonic retropropulsion is one of a few developing technologies that may enable...2014, Karl T. Edquist et al., “Development of Supersonic Retropropulsion for Future Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems”, in Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, volume 51, number 3, →DOI...

Also used as

retropropulsion is also the alternative form of retropulsion.

Forms of retropropulsion

pluralretropropulsions

Origin of retropropulsion

From retro- + propulsion.

Questions about retropropulsion

What does retropropulsion mean?
Retropropulsion means backward propulsion, especially the use of rockets to brake or change direction.
What part of speech is retropropulsion?
Retropropulsion is a noun.
What is the plural of retropropulsion?
The plural of retropropulsion is retropropulsions.

Words near retropropulsion in the dictionary

  1. retroposon
  2. retroposons
  3. retropresbyteral
  4. retroprocessing
  5. retroprojection
  6. retropropulsion
  7. retropropulsions
  8. retroprosthetic
  9. retropseudogene
  10. retropseudogenes
  11. retropubic

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: retropropulsion (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “retropropulsion.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/retropropulsion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.