ammunition
Americannoun
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the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon, as bombs or rockets, and especially shot, shrapnel, bullets, or shells fired by guns.
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the means of igniting or exploding such material, as primers, fuzes, and gunpowder.
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any material, means, weapons, etc., used in any conflict.
a crude ammunition of stones.
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information, advice, or supplies to help defend or attack a viewpoint, argument, or claim.
Give me some ammunition for the debate.
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Obsolete. any military supplies.
noun
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any projectiles, such as bullets, rockets, etc, that can be discharged from a weapon
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bombs, missiles, chemicals, biological agents, nuclear materials, etc, capable of use as weapons
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any means of defence or attack, as in an argument
Etymology
Origin of ammunition
1620–30; < Middle French amonitions, amunitions (plural) military supplies ( a- a- 5 + munition < Latin; see munition), or < French la munition, wrongly analyzed as l'amunition
Explanation
Soldiers carry their ammunition: the bullets and shells needed for their guns. The word ammunition is used to describe the supply of shells or bullets used for a gun, as well as nuclear, chemical or biological matter that can be used in much larger weapons. But we also use it for metaphorical attack material. If you're trying to prove that your big brother is a jerk, your neighbor's story about how he kicked her dog is ammunition for your argument.
Vocabulary lists containing ammunition
Words from "The Avengers"
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Language Gone Wrong: Words That Started Out as Errors
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World War I
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I simply brought my accounting system with me to the war. We took the names of grain varieties from the table and entered the types of drones and ammunition there," he told AFP.
From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026
"But there are still many weaknesses in some places, like we have major shortages when it comes to weapons and ammunition."
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
The Vantor software allows soldiers to compare a current satellite image with historical images, as Brigade 422 did with the ammunition depot, and see infrastructure changes or movement.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
Prosecutors said Lopez was not allowed to possess a firearm or ammunition because of his criminal history, which included a November 2023 grand theft conviction in San Bernardino County.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
This ancient refuse became ammunition in a long-running academic battle between Harvard botanist Paul C. Mangelsdorf and George Beadle, a geneticist who worked at Stanford, Caltech, and the University of Chicago.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
