top definitions
related content
examples
british

shrapnel

[ shrap-nl ]

/ ˈʃræp nl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR shrapnel ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Military.

a hollow projectile containing bullets or the like and a bursting charge, designed to explode before reaching the target, and to set free a shower of missiles.
such projectiles collectively.

shell fragments.

Origin of shrapnel

1800–10; named after Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), English army officer, its inventor

Words nearby shrapnel

shpt, shpt., shr., shraddha, shrank, shrapnel, shreadhead, shred, shredded wheat, shredder, shredding

Example sentences from the Web for shrapnel

In theory, someone could be relatively close to the explosion and survive since the shrapnel would zip by harmlessly overhead.

Dodging Rockets in Afghanistan as the Taliban’s Fighting Season Begins |Nick Willard |May 14, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
A couple weeks ago, I found a pea-sized shard of shrapnel from a past attack in a parking lot.

Dodging Rockets in Afghanistan as the Taliban’s Fighting Season Begins |Nick Willard |May 14, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The new polio threat is a major and predictable consequence of war, just like shrapnel injuries and broken families.

U.N. Calls Middle East Polio Outbreak ‘Greatest Polio Challenge in History’ |Kent Sepkowitz |April 9, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Shrapnel tore through the Airbus A380, causing severe damage.

Why Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Must Have Died Instantaneously |Clive Irving |March 11, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

I recall watching a corporal savaged by shrapnel struggle to survive.

The Book America Needs to Read Right Now |John Kael Weston |January 20, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
As the tank was passing our guns a shrapnel shell burst just behind it and above it.

500 of the Best Cockney War Stories |Various
They told me that the village had been fired on by shrapnel a few minutes before we came into it.

A Journal of Impressions in Belgium |May Sinclair
Bits of shrapnel rattled from the ceiling and wall behind them.

Planet of the Damned |Harry Harrison
Occasionally there is a bit of a rattle—that's shrapnel bullets falling on the tiles of an outhouse.

Adventures of a Despatch Rider |W. H. L. Watson
How often have I felt anxious seeing these shrapnel through the telescope.

Gallipoli Diary, Volume 2 |Ian Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for shrapnel

shrapnel

/ (ˈʃræpnəl) /

noun

a projectile containing a number of small pellets or bullets exploded before impact
such projectiles collectively

fragments from this or any other type of shell

Word Origin for shrapnel

C19: named after H. Shrapnel (1761–1842), English army officer, who invented it