arsenal

noun

ar·​se·​nal ˈärs-nəl 

ˈär-sə-

1

a

: an establishment for the manufacture or storage of arms and military equipment

The city is home to a federal arsenal.

b

: a collection of weapons

2

: store, repertoire

the team's arsenal of veteran players

Synonyms of arsenal

• armory
• warehouse

Examples of arsenal in a Sentence

The city is home to a federal arsenal.

Doctors have a broad arsenal of medicines to choose from.

the team's arsenal of veteran players

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s when Haggerty proceeded to knock down four straight baskets, showcasing his full arsenal of offensive moves. —Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Feb. 2026

The new year is a great time to add a new scent to your arsenal, and this one is available at Nordstrom and Amazon, starting at $36. —Reece Andavolgyi, InStyle, 7 Feb. 2026

The pact's termination left no caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century, fueling fears of an unconstrained nuclear arms race. —Vladimir Isachenkov The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 6 Feb. 2026

Trump insists any new nuclear pact must include China, whose arsenal grew from 200 warheads to over 600 since 2020, but Beijing refuses to participate. —Vladimir Isachenkov, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "dockyard for the construction and repair of naval vessels," borrowed from Middle French archenal, arsenail, arsenal (in reference to the naval dockyard of Venice), borrowed (with conformation of the final to -al -al entry 2) from Upper Italian (Venice) arzanà, presumably alteration (by metanalysis, with the initial taken as the preposition d', di "from") of darsenà (attested in Genoese, earlier in Medieval Latin as darsena, darsana), borrowed from Arabic dār al-ṣināʽa "place of manufacture," from dār "house" + al "the" (assimilated to aṣ) + ṣināʽa "manufacture" (derivative of ṣanaʽa "to make")

Note: Forms with final -ale (as arsenale, arzanale, arzenale) are attested in Italian in the sixteenth century and may be the immediate source of the English word. The French forms with -al may reflect these, though attested about a century earlier. As arzanà the Venetian word is attested in the text of Dante's Inferno ("nell'arzanà de' Viniziani," XXI, 7).

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

arsenal

noun

ar·​se·​nal ˈärs-nəl 

-ᵊn-əl

1

: a place for the manufacture or storage of arms

2

: a collection of weapons