Definition of chemical weapon
: a weapon (such as mustard gas or sarin) used in chemical warfare
Examples of chemical weapon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Sharp, slightly vinegary formic acid is the one-carbon volatile acid, a chemical weapon found in ants and other insects but turned against them by the anteater, which relies on it to help digest them.
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Harold Mcgee, WSJ, "What Does Outer Space Smell Like?," 24 Oct. 2020 This missile likely carries a single high-explosive warhead, cluster bomblets, or a chemical weapon warhead.
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Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "North Korea Threw a Nuke Parade to Flaunt These Frightening New Weapons," 12 Oct. 2020 The targeted sanctions could include Russian officials and people involved in the country's Novichok chemical weapon program.
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Aj Willingham, CNN, "5 things to know for October 8: VP debate, Covid-19, SCOTUS, police, Russia," 8 Oct. 2020 Less than six months later, a pair of Russian operatives traveled to Britain, armed with a Novichok-class chemical weapon that had apparently been produced secretly, under the noses of weapons inspectors, according to the British government.
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Michael Schwirtz, New York Times, "Nerve Agent Was Used to Poison Navalny, Chemical Weapons Body Confirms," 6 Oct. 2020 Evidence of a Novichok group chemical weapon was established from analysis of samples taken from Navalny.
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Washington Post, "Inside Room 239: How Alexei Navalny’s aides got crucial poisoning evidence out of Russia," 4 Oct. 2020 Used as a chemical weapon during World War I, phosphine is still manufactured as an agricultural fumigant, is used in the semiconductor industry, and is a nasty byproduct of meth labs.
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Nadia Drake, National Geographic, "Possible sign of life on Venus stirs up heated debate," 14 Sep. 2020 The European Union on Thursday condemned the poisoning and use of a chemical weapon, describing it as a breach of international law and calling on Russia to help investigate and prosecute those responsible.
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Ann M. Simmons And Thomas Grove, WSJ, "In Novichok Poisoning of Alexei Navalny, Some See a Kremlin Calling Card," 3 Sep. 2020 Chlorine gas, which can appear in the air as a greenish yellow cloud, was used as a chemical weapon in World War 1.
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CBS News, "Chemical fire breaks out in Hurricane Laura's wake; Louisiana governor says "shelter in place"," 27 Aug. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chemical weapon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for chemical weapon
The first known use of chemical weapon was in 1920
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