shrapnel
An anti-personnel artillery shell used in World War I which carries a large number of…An anti-personnel artillery shell used in World War I which carries a large number of individual bullets or balls close to the target and then ejects them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike the target individually.
» Tom's left leg has several scars from shrapnel.
Meaning
5 senses(historical, uncountable, usually)An anti-personnel artillery shell used in World War I which carries a large number of individual bullets or balls close to the target and then ejects them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike the target individually.
Schrapnell
шрапне́льšrapnɛ́lʹ
шрапне́льšrapnélʹ
(historical, uncountable, usually)The bullets or balls from the aforementioned type of artillery shell.
(uncountable, usually)Any shot, fragments, or debris thrown out by an exploding shell, bomb, or landmine.
(broadly, figuratively, uncountable, usually)Debris.
The dog ate my sandwich, and there was shrapnel all over the place from him tearing open the bag.
Schrapnell, Granatsplitter
шрапне́льšrapnɛ́lʹ
шрапне́льšrapnélʹ
(figuratively, slang, uncountable, usually)Loose change.
- shell containing lead pellets that explodes in flight
Examples
7 sentencesTom's left leg has several scars from shrapnel.
My grandfather has a piece of shrapnel in his chest.
I still have a piece of shrapnel in my chest.
I don't think it's a good idea to touch the radioactive shrapnel.
The shrapnel from an explosion is usually more dangerous than the shock wave.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 2
Origin
From Shrapnel. Named after British army officer Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842) who invented anFrom Shrapnel. Named after British army officer Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842) who invented an anti-personnel shell that transported a large number of bullets to the target before releasing them, at a far greater distance than rifles could fire the bullets individually. The surname is likely a metathesized form of Charbonnel, a diminutive of Old French charbon (“charcoal”) in reference to hair color, complexion, or the like.
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Forms
plural: shrapnels| Singular | shrapnel |
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uncountable
Word family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable