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

One that has stayed with me was with American veteran Chuck Searcy, who returned to Vietnam decades after the war and now works with a nonprofit dedicated to locating and safely removing unexploded ordnance. — Susmita Baral, Travel + Leisure, 9 July 2026

The administration has since tried to bomb its way out of this war, but without the ability to hold territory, the United States is now merely depleting its stocks of expensive ordnance to little strategic effect. — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026

Firefighters face challenges in portions of the Military Reserve as the areas contain hazardous, unexploded military ordnance. — Emily Carmela Nelson, Idaho Statesman, 7 July 2026

Videos showed police beating back agitators with batons and deploying anti-riot ordnance as the demonstrators chanted against the country's conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a massive political rally. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 4 July 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