shrapnel

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noun shrap·nel \ ˈshrap-nᵊl , especially Southern ˈsrap- \

Definition of shrapnel

plural shrapnel

1 :a projectile that consists of a case provided with a powder charge and a large number of usually lead balls and that is exploded in flight

2 :bomb, mine, or shell fragments

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Examples of shrapnel in a Sentence

He has a piece of shrapnel in his leg.
Shrapnel from the explosion wounded many people.

Recent Examples of shrapnel from the Web

Growing up, I was surrounded by broken men, men who came home from the war filled with shrapnel and guilt, men who were misled into a losing ideology.

— devan coggan, EW.com, "Arnold Schwarzenegger to white supremacists: 'Your heroes are losers'," 18 Aug. 2017
One of those in the vehicle, the 25-year-old woman, was struck by shrapnel from bullets that went through one of the vehicle's windows, resulting in a laceration to her eye, McGregor said.

— laura mcknight, NOLA.com, "Pursuit involving state police ends in 7th Ward crash," 18 Aug. 2017
The company said the airbags could deploy with excessive force and discharge metal shrapnel inside the cars' passenger compartment.

— maria carter, Country Living, "Nissan May Owe You $500 If You Own One of These Models," 14 Aug. 2017
Takata inflators can explode with too much force and spew shrapnel into drivers and passengers.

— tom krisher, The Seattle Times, "Takata adds new type of inflator to huge air bag recall," 11 July 2017
The explosion sent hundreds of pieces of high-energy shrapnel through the Boeing 777, which broke apart and crashed in farmland in eastern Ukraine.

— justin bachman, Bloomberg.com, "Justice Eludes 298 Killed in the Shoot-Down of Malaysia Air Flight 17," 7 July 2017
Dozens were injured with what appeared to be shrapnel wounds.

— Washington Post, "Civilians flee as strikes pound last of IS-held Mosul," 2 July 2017
An unidentified 32-year-old man damaged his right hand, was hit with shrapnel in the chest and was burned on his chest and face, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

— doug phillips, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Plantation man loses 'one finger at least' in fireworks accident," 29 June 2017
At least 16 deaths and more than 180 injuries have been linked to the defect, which causes the air bags to explode with too much force and spray shrapnel into...

— mike spector, WSJ, "Troubled Air-Bag Maker Takata Files for Bankruptcy in Japan and the U.S.," 26 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shrapnel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of shrapnel

Henry Shrapnel †1842 English artillery officer

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First Known Use: 1806

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Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

SHRAPNEL Defined for English Language Learners

shrapnel

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noun

Definition of shrapnel for English Language Learners

: small metal pieces that scatter outwards from an exploding bomb, shell, or mine

SHRAPNEL Defined for Kids

shrapnel

play

noun shrap·nel \ ˈshrap-nᵊl \

Definition of shrapnel for Students

:small metal pieces that scatter outwards from an exploding bomb, shell, or mine

Learn More about shrapnel

See words that rhyme with shrapnel Spanish Central: Translation of shrapnel Nglish: Translation of shrapnel for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shrapnel

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