go ballistic
idiom
informal
1
: to become very angry
Dad went ballistic when he saw the dent in his car.
2
US
: to become very excited
The crowd was going ballistic as the runner took the lead.
Examples of go ballistic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Trump, who denies the affair, has a history of going ballistic over far less personal attacks.
—
Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 9 May 2024
The Al Green-sampling Drake diss track has yet to hit streaming services and is currently only available on Kendrick Lamar’s Instagram, but that didn’t stop fans from going ballistic Friday morning heading into the weekend.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 3 May 2024
Wyndham gambled with his life in trying to gain an ally, and Alina went ballistic in response.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Allen would fumble on the next play to end the game, and Gillette Stadium went ballistic.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 22 Oct. 2023
Her on-field teammates went ballistic in a mad rush up the field.
—Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 19 Sep. 2023
Movie stars and filmmakers (and their agents) went ballistic when former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar autonomously decided to release all of Warner Bros.’ 2021 film slate on HBO Max.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 25 Apr. 2023
As soon as the hooks grab, the gar will go ballistic.
—Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 25 May 2023
When those targets weren’t met, the district manager would go ballistic.
—Christine Mui, Fortune, 16 June 2022
Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 9 May 2024
The Al Green-sampling Drake diss track has yet to hit streaming services and is currently only available on Kendrick Lamar’s Instagram, but that didn’t stop fans from going ballistic Friday morning heading into the weekend.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 3 May 2024
Wyndham gambled with his life in trying to gain an ally, and Alina went ballistic in response.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Allen would fumble on the next play to end the game, and Gillette Stadium went ballistic.
—Scott Thompson, Fox News, 22 Oct. 2023
Her on-field teammates went ballistic in a mad rush up the field.
—Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 19 Sep. 2023
Movie stars and filmmakers (and their agents) went ballistic when former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar autonomously decided to release all of Warner Bros.’ 2021 film slate on HBO Max.
—Matt Donnelly, Variety, 25 Apr. 2023
As soon as the hooks grab, the gar will go ballistic.
—Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 25 May 2023
When those targets weren’t met, the district manager would go ballistic.
—Christine Mui, Fortune, 16 June 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'go ballistic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Go ballistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/go%20ballistic. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
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