: a case or container that holds a substance, device, or material which is difficult, troublesome, or awkward to handle and that usually can be easily changed: such as
a
: a tube (as of metal) containing a complete charge for a firearm and usually an initiating device (such as a primer)
b
: a case containing an explosive charge for blasting
c
: an often cylindrical container for insertion into a larger mechanism or apparatus
d
e
: a small case that contains a phonograph needle and transducer and is attached to a tonearm
f
: a removable case containing a magnetic tape or one or more disks and used as a computer storage medium
g
: a case for holding printed circuit chips containing a computer program
a video-game cartridge
Examples of cartridge in a Sentence
The printer needs a new ink cartridge.
Recent Examples on the Web
Each bottle of ink and each toner cartridge has a page-yield rating, based on test pages developed by the International Organization for Standards (ISO).
—
PC Magazine, 30 Sep. 2025
On the real hardware, this snippet ended up disabling half the cartridge’s memory.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Sep. 2025
Something many people forget is that light recoil is as great an asset for a cartridge to have as high velocity, heavy bullets, and staggering amounts of muzzle energy.
—Jack O'Connor, Outdoor Life, 24 Sep. 2025
Atari cartridges that marked the video game crash of the early ’80s.
—Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cartridge
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PC Magazine, 30 Sep. 2025
On the real hardware, this snippet ended up disabling half the cartridge’s memory.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Sep. 2025
Something many people forget is that light recoil is as great an asset for a cartridge to have as high velocity, heavy bullets, and staggering amounts of muzzle energy.
—Jack O'Connor, Outdoor Life, 24 Sep. 2025
Atari cartridges that marked the video game crash of the early ’80s.
—Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cartridge
Cite this Entry
“Cartridge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cartridge. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cartridge
noun
car·tridge
ˈkär-trij 
: a case or container that holds a substance or device which is difficult, troublesome, or awkward to handle and that can be easily changed: as
a
: a tube containing a complete charge for a firearm
b
: a holder for photographic film
c
: a device on a phonograph that changes vibrations of the needle into electrical signals
d
: a case for holding a magnetic tape or disk
e
: a case for holding integrated circuits containing a computer program
a video-game cartridge
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