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

Dime-sized scabs from the black pellet shrapnel cover their little bodies. —Rob Schmitz, NPR, 12 Nov. 2025

Four months later, on April 12, a 122-millimeter rocket landed behind him and riddled him with shrapnel. —Eileen Finan, PEOPLE, 11 Nov. 2025

Newsom’s closure of that highway, where shrapnel actually fell on police vehicles, probably saved both lives and plenty of property damage. —Thomas Elias, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025

Taylor Swift even caught some shrapnel, too. —Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 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