casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
ˈka-zhəl-tē 
ˈkazh-wəl-,
ˈka-zhə-wəl-
plural casualties
1
a
: a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action
The army sustained heavy casualties.
b
: a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed : victim
the ex-senator was a casualty of the last election
2
: serious or fatal accident : disaster
losses from fire, storm, or other casualty—
J. S. Seidman
J. S. Seidman
Examples of casualty in a Sentence
a low number of casualties
the real casualties in the war against drugs are millions of innocent children
Recent Examples on the Web
Hamas invaded Israel to commit terrible violence and provoked a war in which Israel is inflicting mass civilian casualties in Gaza.
—Emily Bazelon, New York Times, 20 Nov. 2023
The Israeli army’s internal calculations over its threshold for civilian casualties, which are not made public, appear higher than in previous operations, according to legal experts, as military planners frame the fight against Hamas as existential.
—Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023
Over the past two weeks, Biden has pushed Netanyahu on issues ranging from limiting civilian casualties to agreeing to a pause in fighting to free hostages.
—Gordon Lubold, WSJ, 19 Nov. 2023
Israel Defense Forces via AFP - Getty Images Polling suggests much of the outpouring of goodwill Israel received after the Oct. 7 attacks has now ebbed in the face of images showing mass casualties and destruction in Gaza.
—Alexander Smith, NBC News, 18 Nov. 2023
This article has been updated to correct information about casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg.
—Rebecca Sheehan, The Conversation, 17 Nov. 2023
Its casualties include Todd Fisher, who has uniquely experienced its force as a merciless reaper.
—Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Nov. 2023
In the worst bout of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah since their monthlong war in 2006, casualties have mounted on both sides.
—Neri Zilber, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Nov. 2023
How this can be achieved without horrendous casualties and suffering for the civilians of Gaza is not clear.
—Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Affairs, 16 Nov. 2023
See More
Emily Bazelon, New York Times, 20 Nov. 2023
The Israeli army’s internal calculations over its threshold for civilian casualties, which are not made public, appear higher than in previous operations, according to legal experts, as military planners frame the fight against Hamas as existential.
—Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023
Over the past two weeks, Biden has pushed Netanyahu on issues ranging from limiting civilian casualties to agreeing to a pause in fighting to free hostages.
—Gordon Lubold, WSJ, 19 Nov. 2023
Israel Defense Forces via AFP - Getty Images Polling suggests much of the outpouring of goodwill Israel received after the Oct. 7 attacks has now ebbed in the face of images showing mass casualties and destruction in Gaza.
—Alexander Smith, NBC News, 18 Nov. 2023
This article has been updated to correct information about casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg.
—Rebecca Sheehan, The Conversation, 17 Nov. 2023
Its casualties include Todd Fisher, who has uniquely experienced its force as a merciless reaper.
—Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Nov. 2023
In the worst bout of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah since their monthlong war in 2006, casualties have mounted on both sides.
—Neri Zilber, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Nov. 2023
How this can be achieved without horrendous casualties and suffering for the civilians of Gaza is not clear.
—Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Affairs, 16 Nov. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'casualty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
see casual entry 1
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3
Time Traveler
The first known use of casualty was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near casualty
Cite this Entry
“Casualty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/casualty. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
ˈkazh-əl-tē
ˈkazh-(ə-)wəl-
plural casualties
1
: a serious or fatal accident : disaster
2
a
: a military person lost (as by death or capture) during warfare
b
: a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed
Medical Definition
casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
ˈkazh-əl-tē, ˈkazh-(ə-)wəl-
plural casualties
1
: a serious or fatal accident
2
: a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action
3
a
: injury or death from accident
b
: one injured or killed (as by accident)
Legal Definition
casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
ˈka-zhəl-tē, ˈka-zhə-wəl-
plural casualties
1
: an unfortunate occurrence
especially
: a serious and often disastrous accident
conversion of property…arising from fire, storm, shipwreck, or other casualty —Internal Revenue Code
Internal Revenue Code 2
: something lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed see also casualty gain at gain, casualty loss at loss
More from Merriam-Webster on casualty
Nglish: Translation of casualty for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of casualty for Arabic Speakers
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