shrapnel
noun
especially Southern ˈsrap-\
Definition of 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
Examples of shrapnel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Domino just makes the subtext into text, miraculously surviving car crashes and walking through hails of shrapnel unscathed. — Noah Berlatsky, The Verge, "The best superhero stories admit that superheroes are ridiculous," 11 July 2018 Social media has exposed the shrapnel of the adversarial relationship our country sometimes requires between our politicians and the press. — Greg Burton, azcentral, "Threats and attacks on journalists aren't rare. They also don't deter us.," 30 June 2018 The victim told police one of the suspects pointed a gun at the victims and shot it into the ground, kicking up shrapnel that injured one person's leg, records said. — Elliot Hughes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Drug deal gone bad leads to shots fired, pistol whipping in Oak Creek," 13 June 2018 The man suffered minor injuries from shattered glass and shrapnel, according to police. — Lavendrick Smith, charlotteobserver, "He's accused of killing a Charlotte driver. It wasn't the first time he shot at a car, cops say," 12 June 2018 The Arc Reactor powers that exoskeleton and also keeps the shrapnel out of Tony Stark’s heart, very literally keeping him alive. — Karen Turner, Vox, "Avengers: Infinity War’s superheroes, explained by an evolutionary biologist," 27 Apr. 2018 Standing 10 to 12 feet away, the girl was struck in the neck by shrapnel and died soon thereafter. — Tom Avril, Philly.com, "Fourth of July fireworks: Be wary. Even sparklers can kill," 30 June 2018 Sam Levy was poisoned by mustard gas and struck by shrapnel at the Battle of Belleau Wood, a brutal encounter in northern France that raged for most of June 1918. — Erik Brady, USA TODAY, "How old is former NFL coach Marv Levy? His dad was wounded in World War I," 27 June 2018 Donbas Arena was wounded, less seriously, by shrapnel. — Jeré Longman, New York Times, "Watching the World Cup in a War Zone, Where Every Goal Matters," 15 June 2018These 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.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
Trending: Shrapnel
Trending: Shrapnel
A civilian bystander was wounded in the Capitol shooting
Statistics for shrapnel
Last Updated
19 Oct 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for shrapnel
The first known use of shrapnel was in 1806
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More Definitions for shrapnel
shrapnel
noun
English Language Learners Definition of shrapnel
: small metal pieces that scatter outwards from an exploding bomb, shell, or mine
See the full definition for shrapnel in the English Language Learners Dictionary
shrapnel
noun
\
Kids Definition of shrapnel
: small metal pieces that scatter outwards from an exploding bomb, shell, or mine
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