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shrapnel definition

shrap·nel (s̸hrap′nəl)

noun

  1. an artillery shell filled with an explosive charge and many small metal balls, designed to explode in the air over the objective
  2. the balls scattered by such an explosion
  3. 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.

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