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

• 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

Phoenix police detained a man after National Guard members mistook him for bringing unexploded ordnance to the Papago Park Military Reservation for disposal as a bomb threat. —Perry Vandell, AZCentral.com, 29 Aug. 2025

Video shows the projectiles that hit the hospital staircase were coming from the northeast and were consistent with tank shells, according to an analysis by Trevor Ball, a former US Army senior explosive ordnance disposal team member. —Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2025

With each modification, a new dummy bomb was built by an ordnance squadron commanded by Charlie Begg, whose father was a Charlotte jeweler. —David Perlmutt, Charlotte Observer, 6 Aug. 2025

Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine watches a test video of the ordnance used in the attack on Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2025. —Amira El-Fekki‎, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 July 2025

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