casualty

noun

ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈka-zhəl-tē 

ˈkazh-wəl-,

ˈka-zhə-wəl-

plural casualties

1

a

: a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action

The army sustained heavy casualties.

b

: a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed : victim

the ex-senator was a casualty of the last election

2

: serious or fatal accident : disaster

losses from fire, storm, or other casualty

—J. S. Seidman

3

archaic : chance, fortune

losses that befall them by mere casualty

—Sir Walter Raleigh

Synonyms

• fatality
• loss
• prey
• victim

Examples of casualty in a Sentence

a low number of casualties

the real casualties in the war against drugs are millions of innocent children

Recent Examples on the Web

Protesters, many of whom aren't affiliated with the schools, are demanding for an end to the civilian casualties in Gaza. —Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 25 Apr. 2024

No other casualties were reported in connection with the shooting. —Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2024

Overwhelmingly pervasive, however, is the fear of injury or death, given that Ukrainians face an almost constant barrage of news about fresh casualties, and almost everybody knows someone who has been killed in the war. —Nataliya Gumenyuk, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2024

Nuclear facilities in the area were not damaged, according to Iranian state media, and there were no reports of casualties. —Tom Llamas, NBC News, 19 Apr. 2024

The first limited armed conflict in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising took place on Jan. 18, 1943, as sparsely armed Jewish families took heavy losses, but inflicted dozens of casualties on Nazi soldiers. —David Unsworth, Fox News, 19 Apr. 2024

Now people see the asymmetry of power between the two armies, the delays in military aid, the failure to turn the tide of war in 2023 as hoped, and mounting casualties. —Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Apr. 2024

Although there have been no space junk casualties so far, a recent study suggested there’s a 10% chance of one or more casualties from falling rocket parts in the next decade. —Passant Rabie / Gizmodo, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024

Another could have hit the Israeli parliament or a high-rise apartment house, causing massive casualties. —Thomas L. Friedman, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see casual entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

casualty

noun

ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈkazh-əl-tē 

ˈkazh-(ə-)wəl-

plural casualties

1

: a serious or fatal accident : disaster

2

a

: a military person lost (as by death or capture) during warfare

b

: a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed

Medical Definition

casualty

noun

ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈkazh-əl-tē, ˈkazh-(ə-)wəl- 

plural casualties

1

: a serious or fatal accident

2

: a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action

3

a

: injury or death from accident

b

: one injured or killed (as by accident)

Legal Definition

casualty

noun

ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈka-zhəl-tē, ˈka-zhə-wəl- 

plural casualties

1

: an unfortunate occurrence

especially : a serious and often disastrous accident

conversion of property…arising from fire, storm, shipwreck, or other casualty

—Internal Revenue Code

2

: something lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed see also casualty gain at gain, casualty loss at loss