: a high explosive composed of various chemicals that make it moldable and plastic
Before it was detonated, I held a piece of C-4 plastic explosive about the size of a baseball. It felt slightly greasy and granular, but otherwise indistinguishable from my daughter's Play-Doh.Eric Schlosser

Examples of C-4 in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Their drones’ initial sorties over the battlefield were promising enough to attract the attention of the U.S. government, which sent truckloads of equipment and C-4 explosives to help Yelizarov develop his fleet. Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026 But in November other single-use agents in Poland blew up a stretch of railway on the Warsaw-Lublin line—a key conduit for delivering supplies to Ukraine—with military-grade C-4 explosives. Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 2 Feb. 2026 Authorities said that McGee entered a First Citizens Bank in Zebulon, North Carolina, on Dec. 26, and demanded money from a teller while claiming to have C-4 explosives. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 1 Jan. 2026 According to court documents, the Ford plant’s safety and risk management team received a call about 5:20 p.m. on July 18, 2023, from an unknown man claiming to be armed with an AK-47 rifle with three magazines, a handgun and one pound of C-4 explosives strapped to his chest. Kansas City Star, 13 Nov. 2025 The products range from bulk explosives to landmines and small breaching charges, including C-4. Dave Smith, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2025 Vitello is a stick of C-4 to convention. Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025 Philippi, by September, had conducted reconnaissance for a specific substation and had ordered C-4, other explosives and black powder, the DOJ said. Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025 Rutherford alleged that Butler was selling large amounts of marijuana, prescription painkillers and steroids, as well as C-4 plastic explosive. Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 22 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1964, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of C-4 was in 1964

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Cite this Entry

“C-4.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/C-4. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.

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