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. SeidmanExamples 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
Florida has executed Gulf War veteran Jeffrey Hutchinson for the shooting deaths of his girlfriend and her three children despite a letter from 129 veterans arguing that Hutchinson's mind was a casualty of war.
—James Powel, USA Today, 3 May 2025
These are among the many casualties of the Trump administration's decision to level a research agency that has devoted much of its energy over the past five decades to reducing people's exposure to harmful chemicals and other dangerous conditions in the workplace.
—Will Stone, NPR, 2 May 2025
Although insurance companies pulled back some spending in recent years due to rising claims and inflation, 2024 saw an uptick in ad spend from the four largest property and casualty insurers: Progressive, Allstate, State Farm (February’s Super Bowl withstanding) and Geico.
—Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 1 May 2025
Steve could have easily been a casualty of the difficulties in his department.
—Joelle Jay, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for casualty
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James Powel, USA Today, 3 May 2025
These are among the many casualties of the Trump administration's decision to level a research agency that has devoted much of its energy over the past five decades to reducing people's exposure to harmful chemicals and other dangerous conditions in the workplace.
—Will Stone, NPR, 2 May 2025
Although insurance companies pulled back some spending in recent years due to rising claims and inflation, 2024 saw an uptick in ad spend from the four largest property and casualty insurers: Progressive, Allstate, State Farm (February’s Super Bowl withstanding) and Geico.
—Jason Clinkscales, Sportico.com, 1 May 2025
Steve could have easily been a casualty of the difficulties in his department.
—Joelle Jay, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for casualty
Cite this Entry
“Casualty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/casualty. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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