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

The bombardment has wounded tens of thousands more, flattened thousands of buildings and reduced much of the territory’s infrastructure — and its landscape — to rubble, shrapnel and sand. —New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025

He was injured by shrapnel fighting Hamas militants in his community of Kfar Aza and was hospitalized, while his wife, three children, and their neighbor’s child, an American girl named Abigail Idan, who was orphaned in the attack, were among those kidnapped and brought back to Gaza. —Mike Brest, The Washington Examiner, 6 Oct. 2025

The assault left four members dead and numerous others physically injured, some from gunshots, others by smoke inhalation and still others gashed and bleeding from shrapnel and shards of glass. —Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025

And the two shrapnel wounds on her own body. —Lily Altavena, Freep.com, 2 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