cluster bomb

noun

: a canister of small individual bombs that is dropped from an aircraft

Examples of cluster bomb in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Providing the cluster bombs will also ease the pressure on limited U.S. ammunition stockpiles. Time, 8 July 2023 Experts say cluster bombs have an immense capacity to cause destruction. Time, 6 July 2023 In July, the U.S. agreed to send thousands of cluster bombs to Ukraine. Lolita C. Baldor The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2023 The cluster bombs help Kyiv hold the line, for the time being. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 24 July 2023 But now, the U.S. is seriously considering the idea of providing the Ukrainian military with cluster bombs. Phil McCausland, NBC News, 1 July 2023 Surveys show a remarkable shift in sentiment away from China to other Asian and Western nations — most surprisingly to the United States, which rained some 270 million cluster bombs down on Laos during a covert campaign in tandem with the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s. Shibani Mahtani, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023 Could cluster bombs make a difference on the battlefield? Time, 6 July 2023 How Ukraine is exploiting Biden's cluster bomb gamble Tetiana Skrynnikova, 60, stood outside crying. Serhii Korolchuk, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cluster bomb.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1967, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cluster bomb was in 1967

Dictionary Entries Near cluster bomb

Cite this Entry

“Cluster bomb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cluster%20bomb. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.

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