heat-seeking missile

1. 1.

   a missile with a guidance system that directs it toward targets emitting infrared radiation (as the emissions of a jet engine)

   Broadermissile

   Narrowerbrilliant pebbleStinger

Questions about heat-seeking missile

What does heat-seeking missile mean?

heat-seeking missile means "a missile with a guidance system that directs it toward targets emitting infrared radiation (as the emissions of a jet engine)".

Is heat-seeking missile a common word?

heat-seeking missile is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.