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

But the losers may turn out to be like unexploded ordnance from World War II in European cities — unseen but with fuses that may explode with just a minor vibration. —Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 7 Dec. 2025

Flight crews conducted more than 1,000 air strikes against the Houthis with more than one million pounds of ordnance. —Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025

What salvage crews did bring up was ordnance. —Linda Dudik, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Dec. 2025

Which innovations are actually reshaping explosive ordnance disposal and demilitarisation work in a meaningful way, and where does the hype still exceed reality? —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 28 Nov. 2025

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