ordnance

noun

ord·​nance ˈȯrd-nən(t)s 

1

a

: military supplies including weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment

bombers dropped heavy concentrations of ordnance on every targeted airfield

—Ron Dick

b

: a service of the army charged with the procuring, distributing, and safekeeping of ordnance

2

: cannon, artillery

Several pieces of ordnance bombarded the entrenched enemy.

Synonyms

• artillery
• guns

Examples of ordnance in a Sentence

The company was outfitted with 50-millimeter ordnance.

the army is waiting for the heavy ordnance to be brought in

Recent Examples on the Web

Up to 10 percent of those ordnances did not explode, leaving them to be discovered decades later. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 May 2024

The office also urged the agency to improve protocols for bomb sweepings and ordnance removal, and to ensure adequate procedures are in place for conducting internal reviews. —Maria Sacchetti Andjacqueline Alemany The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 3 Aug. 2024

Trevor Ball, a former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, told CNN Sunday that weapon fragments at the scene indicated the rocket was fired by Hezbollah or another militant group. —Rob Picheta, CNN, 28 July 2024

As recently as 2018, and despite strong advocacy from Vietnamese and international humanitarian groups, the United States was reluctant to help clear unexploded ordnance, land mines, and Agent Orange residue in Vietnam that has contaminated the land and devastated people’s health. —Huong Le Thu, Foreign Affairs, 12 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ordinaunce, from Anglo-French ordenance disposition, preparation, military provisions — more at ordinance

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

ordnance

noun

ord·​nance ˈȯrd-nən(t)s 

1

: military supplies

also : the branch of the army that obtains and gives out military supplies

2

: artillery sense 1