grenade

noun

gre·​nade grə-ˈnād 

: a small missile that contains an explosive or a chemical agent (such as tear gas, a flame producer, or a smoke producer) and that is thrown by hand or projected (as by a rifle or special launcher)

Examples of grenade in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Dozens of additional settlers arrived, moving boulders into the road and throwing rocks at the security forces, who were seen firing sound grenades and spraying settlers with pepper spray before withdrawing. — Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026

The police's crisis negotiation unit was on scene and department members deployed a flash bang grenade during the standoff, the spokesperson said. — David Clarey, jsonline.com, 11 Aug. 2026

Four Grucci employees, led by a young crew chief named Alyson, were ending their workday by test-firing one last hand grenade and one last groundburst simulator. — Paige Williams, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

There’s one shaped like a hand grenade; another bears a white-sheet-ghost novelty trinket over the lid, denoting a ghost pepper sauce. — Adam Van Brimmer, AJC.com, 2 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, literally, pomegranate, from Late Latin granata, from Latin, feminine of granatus seedy, from granum grain — more at corn

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing grenade

• concussion grenade
• flash-bang grenade
• flash grenade
• fragmentation grenade
• smoke grenade
• stun grenade

Rhymes for grenade

• afraid
• allayed
• arcade
• arrayed
• assayed
• barmaid
• betrayed
• blockade
• bridesmaid
• brigade
• brocade
• buffeted

Kids Definition

grenade

noun

gre·​nade grə-ˈnād 

: a small bomb that is thrown by hand or launched (as by a rifle)

Etymology

from early French grenade, granade "pomegranate, grenade," from Latin granata "pomegranate," derived from Latin granatus "seedy," from granum "grain, seed" — related to garnet, grain, pomegranate see Word History at garnet