shrapnel

[ shrap-nl ]
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noun
  1. 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.

  2. shell fragments.

Origin of shrapnel

1
1800–10; named after Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), English army officer, its inventor

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British Dictionary definitions for shrapnel

shrapnel

/ (ˈʃræpnəl) /


noun
    • a projectile containing a number of small pellets or bullets exploded before impact

    • such projectiles collectively

  1. fragments from this or any other type of shell

Origin of shrapnel

1
C19: named after H. Shrapnel (1761–1842), English army officer, who invented it

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012