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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
Exact ammunition expenditures and remaining stockpiles remain classified.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
"We have a lot of ammunition," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Now, long-range strike systems can hit targets hundreds of kilometers away, such as logistics hubs, aircraft on the ground, ammunition depots and defense-industrial facilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
America is on a global shopping spree outside China to secure critical minerals for jet fighters, tanks and cutting-edge ammunition, while European countries are hunting the same things to counter the threat of Russian aggression.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
With my pockets bulging with ammunition, I climbed out of the washout and ran back to the sycamore tree.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
The weapons and ammunitions segment posted a 38% jump in third-quarter sales to 691 million euros.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
Italy and the Czech Republic are among the European countries sending Indian ammunitions to Ukraine, it added.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2024
Fumes from burning everything from rubber, chemical waste and ammunitions to human feces have caused rare cancers and respiratory illnesses in veterans.
From Reuters ● Aug. 10, 2023
They also captured the Yarmouk ammunitions factory in June, seized areas east of the strategic Halfaya Bridge and recently took over the south Khartoum and Omdurman Central Reserve Police bases, according to residents and analysts.
From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2023
He fought as bravely and gallantly in the Philippines as he did in Cuba, capturing many rebel strongholds and considerable quantities of arms and ammunitions.
From Young Peoples' History of the War with Spain by Holmes, Prescott
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.
