Definition
A missile designed to intercept and destroy another missile in flight before it can reach its target.
Plain English
A missile whose job is to shoot down other missiles while they are still in the air.
Context Anchor
Seen in military aviation, air defense, and aerospace discussions rather than normal civilian flight training.
Derivation
Anti- comes from Greek meaning 'against.' Missile comes from Latin missilis, meaning 'something thrown or sent.' Together: a sent weapon designed to act against another sent weapon.
Why Pilots Care
Most civilian pilots will not operate these systems, but the term may appear in military airspace, defense, or aerospace material where knowing that it refers to missile defense prevents confusion.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as a missile that avoids missiles. It means a missile launched to attack and stop another missile.
Example Sentence 1
The naval vessel launched an antimissile missile to intercept the incoming threat.
Example Sentence 2
Crew briefings covered procedures following detection of an antimissile missile launch.