weapon

1 of 2

noun

weap·​on ˈwe-pən 

1

: something (such as a club, knife, or gun) used to injure, defeat, or destroy

2

: a means of contending against another

weapon

2 of 2

verb

weaponed; weaponing; weapons

transitive verb

: arm

Examples of weapon in a Sentence

Noun

assault with a deadly weapon

The pitcher's slider is his most effective weapon.

a new weapon in the fight against cancer

The mayor's campaign unleashed its secret weapon.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The weapon can also fly more than 45 miles to strike mobile targets, reducing the amount of time that aircrews spend in harm’s way. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025

After the Antioch School shooting in January 2025, Nashville's school district said that a new AI weapons detection system, called Omnilert, failed to detect the gun used by an assailant who shot and killed two students. —Tonya Simpson, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2025

Verb

Lobbing an anti-satellite, or counter-space, weapon into the same orbital plane as its potential target ties Russia's hands. —Robert Pearlman, ArsTechnica, 11 July 2025

Saleh said the organization refuses to stand by as Israel ships weapon components to the U.S. to be developed and then used on the people of Gaza. —Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English wepen, from Old English wǣpen; akin to Old High German wāffan weapon, Old Norse vāpn

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing weapon

• assault weapon
• beam weapon
• biological weapon
• chemical weapon
• murder weapon
• weapon of last resort
• weapon of mass destruction

Kids Definition

weapon

noun

weap·​on

ˈwep-ən

1

: something (as a gun, knife, or club) used to injure, defeat, or destroy

2

: something with which one fights or struggles against another