arsenal

noun

ar·​se·​nal ˈärs-nəl 

ˈär-sə-

1

a

: an establishment for the manufacture or storage of arms and military equipment

The city is home to a federal arsenal.

b

: a collection of weapons

2

: store, repertoire

the team's arsenal of veteran players

Synonyms of arsenal

• armory
• warehouse

Examples of arsenal in a Sentence

The city is home to a federal arsenal.

Doctors have a broad arsenal of medicines to choose from.

the team's arsenal of veteran players

Recent Examples on the Web

Emerging studies on leading AI models that have been specially trained by scholars to act as virtual Commanders-in-Chief, armed with massive arsenals of atomic arms, have been alarming. — Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Unbeknownst to David, the system, called WOPR—War Operations Plan Response—is in control of the American nuclear arsenal. — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2026

Unless Washington provides another naval destroyer, he will be forced to choose defense of the United States over Israel, the report claimed, as the Iran war has put a strain on Washington’s military arsenal. — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2026

Los Angeles County firefighters have focused on adapting to the changing weather conditions by adjusting staffing, tactics and working with a more powerful arsenal of equipment. — Tom Wait, CBS News, 31 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "dockyard for the construction and repair of naval vessels," borrowed from Middle French archenal, arsenail, arsenal (in reference to the naval dockyard of Venice), borrowed (with conformation of the final to -al -al entry 2) from Upper Italian (Venice) arzanà, presumably alteration (by metanalysis, with the initial taken as the preposition d', di "from") of darsenà (attested in Genoese, earlier in Medieval Latin as darsena, darsana), borrowed from Arabic dār al-ṣināʽa "place of manufacture," from dār "house" + al "the" (assimilated to aṣ) + ṣināʽa "manufacture" (derivative of ṣanaʽa "to make")

Note: Forms with final -ale (as arsenale, arzanale, arzenale) are attested in Italian in the sixteenth century and may be the immediate source of the English word. The French forms with -al may reflect these, though attested about a century earlier. As arzanà the Venetian word is attested in the text of Dante's Inferno ("nell'arzanà de' Viniziani," XXI, 7).

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

arsenal

noun

ar·​se·​nal ˈärs-nəl 

-ᵊn-əl

1

: a place for the manufacture or storage of arms

2

: a collection of weapons