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

Tolle showed off his renowned 99 mph fastball while mixing in an improved arsenal of secondary pitches, and the Yankees couldn’t make heads or tails of him the first time through the order. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 24 Apr. 2026

Hershiser says Ohtani’s candidacy will be defined by his ability to minimize those bad starts, and to continue to rack up the great advanced stats that his new curveball-heavy pitch arsenal has led to early on. —Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026

France has likewise announced plans to expand its nuclear arsenal and use it for extended deterrence for the rest of Europe. —Carla Martinez MacHain, The Conversation, 21 Apr. 2026

The figures raised questions about whether or not security force members were included, particularly given the levels of intense bombings targeting military bases and arsenals in the country. —April 20, CBS News, 20 Apr. 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