ordnance

noun

ord·​nance ˈȯrd-nən(t)s 

1

a

: military supplies including weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment

… bombers dropped heavy concentrations of ordnance on every targeted airfield …

—Ron Dick

b

: a service of the army charged with the procuring, distributing, and safekeeping of ordnance

2

: cannon, artillery

Several pieces of ordnance bombarded the entrenched enemy.

Synonyms of ordnance

• guns
• weapons

Examples of ordnance in a Sentence

The company was outfitted with 50-millimeter ordnance.

the army is waiting for the heavy ordnance to be brought in

Recent Examples on the Web

The Boise Foothills contain an 8,570-acre Munitions Response Site containing unexploded ordnances from military training dating as far back as 1922. — Idaho Statesman, 22 July 2026

Reconstruction Starts Below The Surface Ukraine faces the world's largest current explosive-ordnance contamination challenge. — Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Either Osborn or Kelley-Eklund then took the ordnance home and left it in their truck overnight, or brought it into their house, the lawsuit alleges. — Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026

The program focused on building the skills needed to handle ordnance while following a much shorter timeline than the traditional nine-month qualification course. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 18 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ordinaunce, from Anglo-French ordenance disposition, preparation, military provisions — more at ordinance

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

ordnance

noun

ord·​nance ˈȯrd-nən(t)s 

1

: military supplies

also : the branch of the army that obtains and gives out military supplies

2

: artillery sense 1