chemical weapon

noun

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Definition of chemical weapon

: a weapon (such as mustard gas or sarin) used in chemical warfare

Recent Examples of chemical weapon from the Web

Read more: The recent military strikes by the U.S., and other nations were aimed at sites that U.S. officials say were used to make chemical weapons and recently used in Syria against civilians.

— niraj warikoo, Detroit Free Press, "Some metro Detroit Syrian Americans say more needs to be done to get Assad out of power," 14 Apr. 2018
Tensions with Russia are still running high after France launched airstrikes with the U.S. and the U.K. against Syrian chemical weapons facilities last month.

— james marson, WSJ, "Europe Seeks Russia’s Help on Saving Iran Deal, Despite Chill," 23 May 2018
Before the recent strikes on Syrian chemical weapons facilities, Russian government officials not only warned that any attacking missiles would be shot down but that the source of the missiles would be attacked.

— kyle mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Russia Blows Up Junked Warship in Provocative Missile Test," 26 Apr. 2018
Following their joint attack, with Britain, on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons facilities early this month, there is a Syria strategy to figure out.

— karen deyoung, chicagotribune.com, "As Macron arrives to meet Trump, fate of Iran nuclear deal is front and center," 22 Apr. 2018
This month, prior to launching a missile attack on Syria's chemical weapons facilities, Trump took to Twitter, responding to the assertion that the Russians would block any missiles fired at Syria.

— eric adler, kansascity, "Obama photographer Pete Souza finds fame as 'the professional troll of Donald Trump' | The Kansas City Star," 18 Apr. 2018
One hundred and five cruise missiles launched from sea and air struck three alleged chemical weapons facilities in Syria.

— sean gallagher, Ars Technica, "What the latest strike on Syria succeeded at (and what it didn’t)," 18 Apr. 2018
Tension on Israel's northern borders remains very high in light of the American attack against the Assad chemical weapons facilities last Friday and the expectation of Iranian retaliation for a separate strike attributed to Israel.

— yonat friling, Fox News, "Israeli army reveals images allegedly showing Iran's involvement in Syria," 17 Apr. 2018
When seen from this point of view, the destruction of a number of Assad’s chemical weapons research facilities might be seen as at best a diversion from the main point.

— jonathan spyer, The New Republic, "The Great Distraction of Punitive Airstrikes," 15 Apr. 2018

These 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.