artillery

noun

ar·​til·​lery är-ˈti-lə-rē 

-ˈtil-rē

plural artilleries

1

: weapons (such as bows, slings, and catapults) for discharging missiles

2

a

: large bore mounted firearms (such as guns, howitzers, and rockets) : ordnance

especially : such ordnance that is capable of long-range indirect fire at a target too distant to be seen

b

: a branch of an army armed with artillery

3

: a means of impressing, arguing, persuading, or competing

… indicated that the Bureau had not rolled out its heavy artillery for a full-scale investigation.

—Herbert Mitgang

Synonyms

• guns
• ordnance

Examples of artillery in a Sentence

The troops were being bombarded by artillery.

a captain in the artillery

Recent Examples on the Web

Every few minutes, firecrackers explode, simulating grenades and artillery fire. —Polina Lytvynova, NPR, 7 Sep. 2024

At the onset of the war, our home was struck by numerous artillery shells, damaging the water tanks, the stairs, my niece’s room, and our kitchen. —Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Sep. 2024

In 2023, Ukrainian leaders argued that large-scale synchronization was impossible while fighting an enemy with modern drones and artillery; many U.S. officers thought the problem was insufficient Ukrainian training. —Stephen Biddle, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2024

If anything, Trump stabilized world peace by getting along with others, including dictators such as Kim Jong Un of North Korea, who under the Biden administration has 60% of his artillery deployed along the DMZ. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 8 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English artilrie, artillerie "instruments of war, weapons for discharging missiles," borrowed from Anglo-French & continental Middle French artelrie, artillerie, from Old French artillier "to equip, provide with instruments of war" (alteration, probably after art "skill, craft, art entry 1" and its derivatives, of atiller, atillier "to order, adjust, put on pieces of armor") + -rie, -erie -ery; atiller, atillier going back to Vulgar Latin *apticulāre, from Latin aptāre "to put into position, bring to bear, make ready" + Vulgar Latin *-iculāre, as in *appariculāre "to prepare, equip, apparel entry 2" — more at adapt

Note: The expected outcome of *apticulāre would be *ateiller rather than atiller, which would appear to derive from *aptīculāre; the discrepancy has been explained as a result of interference from the semantically similar verb atirier, atirer "to equip, prepare" (see attire entry 1).

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing artillery

• artillery pieces
• field artillery
• heavy artillery

Kids Definition

artillery

noun

ar·​til·​lery är-ˈtil-(ə-)rē 

plural artilleries

1

: large firearms (as cannon or rockets)

2

: a branch of an army armed with artillery

artilleryman

-mən

noun