bombard vs catapult

bombard

noun
  • A bombardon. 

  • A bombardment. 

  • a medieval primitive cannon, used chiefly in sieges for throwing heavy stone balls. 

verb
  • To direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms. 

  • To attack something or someone by directing objects at them. 

  • To continuously attack something with bombs, artillery shells or other missiles or projectiles. 

  • To continuously send or direct (at someone) 

catapult

noun
  • An instance of firing a missile from a catapult. 

  • A device or weapon for throwing or launching large objects. 

  • A mechanical aid on aircraft carriers designed to help airplanes take off from the flight deck. 

  • An instance of firing something, as if from a catapult. 

  • A slingshot. 

verb
  • To be fired from a catapult or as if from a catapult. 

  • To fire a missile from a catapult. 

  • To fire or launch something, as if from a catapult. 

  • To have one's status increased rapidly. 

  • To increase the status of something rapidly. 

How often have the words bombard and catapult occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )