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

• armory
• depot
• dump
• magazine

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

Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal, the largest of any country in the Middle East, is almost entirely homegrown. —Nilo Tabrizy, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024

Enter Plane Jane, an apparent social experiment implemented by the U.S. government and armed with arresting good looks both in and out of drag (a recipe for fandom catnip) as well as an arsenal of shade that sharply divided fans and queens alike. —Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024

Tehran’s arsenal also includes surface-to-air missiles, including Russia’s S-300 air defense system, but these aren’t as battle tested as Israel’s defenses. —Tony Capaccio, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2024

Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who’s ready to add a new episode of their kids’ favorite show to the arsenal. —Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024

Iran has the largest arsenal of ballistic missiles and drones in the Middle East, including cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles, experts say, as well as short-range and long-range ballistic missiles with ranges up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles). —Thomas Fuller, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024

This is just the latest major partnership in Gauff’s arsenal. —Jasmine Browley, Essence, 11 Apr. 2024

State dinners are often viewed as a glamorous tool in the arsenal of diplomacy, where the charm offensive is unleashed on allies − and even adversaries − with whom greater partnership is desired. —USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024

On Monday, hours before the killing of the World Central Kitchen workers, the U.S. approved the shipment of some 2,000 bombs to Israel's arsenal, according to CNN. —Brian Bennett, TIME, 4 Apr. 2024

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