# go ballistic

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/go-ballistic
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To become very angry and irrational.

## Examples

- My boss will go ballistic if we miss this deadline.
- When he saw the deep scratch on his new car, he went ballistic in the parking lot.
- The manager went ballistic upon discovering that the entire project budget had been squandered on unnecessary equipment.

## Origin

The idiom emerged from the military lexicon of the late 1950s and 1960s, a period defined by the introduction of second-generation jet fighters armed with guided missiles. In its original technical context, the term described a specific failure of equipment. A fully powered, non-ballistic missile was said to go ballistic when it lost its guidance system, ceased its controlled flight, and assumed a terminal, free-fall trajectory. In subsequent decades, the term migrated from the description of technical failure to a broader association with the suborbital trajectories of long-range, typically nuclear-armed missiles. The transition from a lost missile to a nuclear one provided the linguistic leap from a mechanical error to an explosion of temper.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.