ordnance

noun

ord·​nance ˈȯrd-nən(t)s 

1

a

: military supplies including weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment

… bombers dropped heavy concentrations of ordnance on every targeted airfield …

—Ron Dick

b

: a service of the army charged with the procuring, distributing, and safekeeping of ordnance

2

: cannon, artillery

Several pieces of ordnance bombarded the entrenched enemy.

Synonyms of ordnance

• guns
• weapons

Examples of ordnance in a Sentence

The company was outfitted with 50-millimeter ordnance.

the army is waiting for the heavy ordnance to be brought in

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead, one of the men took the ordnance home and either left it in their truck overnight, or brought it into their house, the claim alleges. —Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026

As the ordnance exploded over the federal installation in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861, the Civil War began. —Bill Steiden, Des Moines Register, 24 Mar. 2026

The site is closed to tourism due to unstable walls and concern about the presence of unexploded ordnance. —ABC News, 23 Mar. 2026

Pan captured 243 photographs and 13 videos of payload-processing facilities, munitions bunkers, security checkpoints, mission-control centers, fuel and ordnance storage sites, and the nuclear submarine wharf. —Adam Ciralsky, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ordinaunce, from Anglo-French ordenance disposition, preparation, military provisions — more at ordinance

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

ordnance

noun

ord·​nance ˈȯrd-nən(t)s 

1

: military supplies

also : the branch of the army that obtains and gives out military supplies

2

: artillery sense 1