shrapnel

noun

shrap·​nel ˈshrap-nᵊl How to pronounce shrapnel (audio)
 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 The man, who has yet to be publicly identified, was standing at a carwash, about a quarter-mile away from the explosion in Clinton Township, Mich., when he was struck by airborne shrapnel from one of the canisters that officials said were illegally stored. Leo Sands, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 Duncan said a firefighter was briefly hospitalized after he was hit with broken glass and shrapnel from the explosion. Elissa Robinson, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2024 The conditions of her friend in Gaza, meanwhile, were dire: one of their children was injured by shrapnel, and food, water, and medicine were scarce. Mia Sato, The Verge, 29 Feb. 2024 Doctors removed much of the bullet from his chest, but some shrapnel remains. Rozina Ali, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 Their bodies were filled with shrapnel that had to be surgically pulled out of their flesh, one piece at a time. Irfan Galaria, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2024 The recall follows a warning last month by the company to owners of thousands of older Corolla, Matrix, and RAV4 vehicles to stop driving their cars as the Takata airbag inflators they were equipped with are at risk of exploding and hurling shrapnel. Chris Morris, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2024 They were both hospitalized and one of them lost an eye because of shrapnel. Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2024 Liudmyla's sister was badly wounded by shrapnel during the fighting, dying of complications four years later. Samya Kullab The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 1 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shrapnel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Henry Shrapnel †1842 English artillery officer

First Known Use

1806, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shrapnel was in 1806

Dictionary Entries Near shrapnel

Cite this Entry

“Shrapnel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shrapnel. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

shrapnel

noun
shrap·​nel ˈshrap-nᵊl How to pronounce shrapnel (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on shrapnel

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