impactor
nounUS /ɪmˈpæktɚ/ · UK /ɪmˈpæktə/
Etymology Borrowed from New Latin impāctor, from impingō + -tor.
1
Any of several machines or devices in which a part impacts on another, or on a material.
- cascade impactor
2
An object which impacts another.
- Chicxulub impactor
- Although Dr. Bottke remains unconvinced that the impactor had a cometary origin, he noted that the asteroid explanation also raised many exciting and unresolved questions.2021 February 15, Becky Ferreira, “Where Did the Dinosaur-Killing Impactor Come From?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN: