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
Scenes of panic emerged in Gaza during the strikes, where crowds were seen gathered at al-Aqsa hospital as casualties were rushed into the facility.
—Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
The incident was declared a mass casualty, according to the outlet.
—Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
Among the casualties are the region’s rich kelp forests, which contribute upwards of $52 billion to the global economy and sequester nearly a megaton of carbon from the atmosphere every year.
—JSTOR Daily, 17 Oct. 2025
The storyline comes following the season 22 premiere, where Amelia was rocked by the death of fellow doctor Monica Beltran, played by Natalie Morales, who was the sole casualty in the season opener after last season’s cliffhanger finale when the hospital was hit with an explosion.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for casualty
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Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
The incident was declared a mass casualty, according to the outlet.
—Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
Among the casualties are the region’s rich kelp forests, which contribute upwards of $52 billion to the global economy and sequester nearly a megaton of carbon from the atmosphere every year.
—JSTOR Daily, 17 Oct. 2025
The storyline comes following the season 22 premiere, where Amelia was rocked by the death of fellow doctor Monica Beltran, played by Natalie Morales, who was the sole casualty in the season opener after last season’s cliffhanger finale when the hospital was hit with an explosion.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 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 23 Oct. 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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