Dictionary Home »
Webster's New World College Dictionary » shrapnel
shrapnel
shrapnel definition
shrap·nel (s̸hrap′nəl)
noun
- an artillery shell filled with an explosive charge and many small metal balls, designed to explode in the air over the objective
- the balls scattered by such an explosion
- any fragments scattered by an exploding shell, bomb, etc.
Etymology: after H. Shrapnel (1761-1842), Brit general who invented it
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Comments
Improve this definition.
Browse dictionary definitions near shrapnel
Share on Facebook