artillery

noun

ar·​til·​lery är-ˈti-lə-rē How to pronounce artillery (audio)
-ˈtil-rē
plural artilleries
1
: weapons (such as bows, slings, and catapults) for discharging missiles
2
a
: large bore mounted firearms (such as guns, howitzers, and rockets) : ordnance
especially : such ordnance that is capable of long-range indirect fire at a target too distant to be seen
b
: a branch of an army armed with artillery
3
: a means of impressing, arguing, persuading, or competing
… indicated that the Bureau had not rolled out its heavy artillery for a full-scale investigation.Herbert Mitgang

Examples of artillery in a Sentence

The troops were being bombarded by artillery. a captain in the artillery
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Indeterminate numbers of casualties have occurred in both Iran and Israel, though Israel's intentions to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities may require U.S. artillery aid in the form of multi-ton bunker buster bombs. Nick Mordowanec, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025 An artillery shell arriving after thirty seconds will miss by hundreds of meters. David Hambling, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025 The parade will feature dozens of armored tanks and artillery vehicles such as HIMARS, army aircraft, including Black Hawk helicopters and Apaches and more than 6,000 uniformed troops. Alana Wise, NPR, 14 June 2025 This weekend, the National Mall in Washington, D.C. will play host to the largest military parade in the U.S. in decades, replete with thousands of soldiers, tanks, parachute jumpers, artillery and dramatic flyovers from vintage warplanes. Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 13 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for artillery

Word History

Etymology

Middle English artilrie, artillerie "instruments of war, weapons for discharging missiles," borrowed from Anglo-French & continental Middle French artelrie, artillerie, from Old French artillier "to equip, provide with instruments of war" (alteration, probably after art "skill, craft, art entry 1" and its derivatives, of atiller, atillier "to order, adjust, put on pieces of armor") + -rie, -erie -ery; atiller, atillier going back to Vulgar Latin *apticulāre, from Latin aptāre "to put into position, bring to bear, make ready" + Vulgar Latin *-iculāre, as in *appariculāre "to prepare, equip, apparel entry 2" — more at adapt

Note: The expected outcome of *apticulāre would be *ateiller rather than atiller, which would appear to derive from *aptīculāre; the discrepancy has been explained as a result of interference from the semantically similar verb atirier, atirer "to equip, prepare" (see attire entry 1).

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of artillery was in the 15th century

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Cite this Entry

“Artillery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artillery. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

artillery

noun
ar·​til·​lery är-ˈtil-(ə-)rē How to pronounce artillery (audio)
plural artilleries
1
: large firearms (as cannon or rockets)
2
: a branch of an army armed with artillery
artilleryman
-mən
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on artillery

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