cannon fodder
Military forces considered to be expendableMilitary forces considered to be expendable.
» The soldiers were regarded as cannon fodder.
Die Soldaten wurden als Kanonenfutter betrachtet.
Солдат считали пушечным мясом.
Солдатів вважали гарматним м'ясом.
Meaning
4 senses(uncountable)Military forces considered to be expendable.
Kanonenfutter
(broadly, uncountable)Any group of contestants that have no hope of success.
(rare, uncountable)Artillery ammunition.
(slang, uncountable)An expendable minor character primarily included to make the protagonist(s) stand out.
- soldiers who are regarded as expendable in the face of artillery fire
Examples
7 sentencesThe soldiers were regarded as cannon fodder.
Солдатів вважали гарматним м'ясом.
ruСолдат считали пушечным мясом.
deDie Soldaten wurden als Kanonenfutter betrachtet.
Children were used as cannon fodder.
ruДетей использовали как пушечное мясо.
Children were used for cannon fodder.
ruДетей использовали как пушечное мясо.
The children were used as cannon fodder.
ruДетей использовали как пушечное мясо.
deDie Kinder wurden als Kanonenfutter benutzt.
The children were used for cannon fodder.
ruДетей использовали как пушечное мясо.
deDie Kinder wurden als Kanonenfutter benutzt.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
Mid-19th century, from cannon (“artillery piece”) + fodder (“food”), a calque of German KaMid-19th century, from cannon (“artillery piece”) + fodder (“food”), a calque of German Kanonenfutter, itself possibly a calque of English food for powder. See the German for more.
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Synonyms
2 synonyms- soldiers who are regarded as expendable in the face of artillery fire:fodderfresh fish
Lessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable