shrapnel

noun

shrap·​nel ˈshrap-nᵊl 

especially Southern ˈsrap-

plural shrapnel

1

: a projectile that consists of a case provided with a powder charge and a large number of usually lead balls and that is exploded in flight

2

: bomb, mine, or shell fragments

Examples of shrapnel in a Sentence

He has a piece of shrapnel in his leg.

Shrapnel from the explosion wounded many people.

Recent Examples on the Web

Some walls still carried the scars of shrapnel, and despairing alleys were submerged in rainwater. —Nabil Salih, Time, 4 Dec. 2025

Some shrapnel was felt in BoCo, too. —Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 3 Dec. 2025

Arriving to a crew of Others, including the mayor, tidying up the broken glass and shrapnel on her property, Carol beelines to a whiteboard that’s currently filled with ideas for the fifth novel in her Wycaro trilogy. —Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2025

We just got hit by some shrapnel. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Henry Shrapnel †1842 English artillery officer

First Known Use

1806, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

shrapnel

noun

shrap·​nel ˈshrap-nᵊl 

plural shrapnel

1

: a shell designed to burst and scatter metal balls with which it is filled along with jagged fragments of the case

2

: metal pieces from an exploded bomb, shell, or mine