artillery

American  

[ahr-til-uh-ree] / ɑrˈtɪl ə ri /

noun

1. mounted projectile-firing guns or missile launchers, mobile or stationary, light or heavy, as distinguished from small arms.

2. the troops or the branch of an army concerned with the use and service of such weapons.

3. the science that treats of the use of such weapons.

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artillery British  

/ ɑːˈtɪlərɪ /

noun

1. guns, cannon, howitzers, mortars, etc, of calibre greater than 20 mm

2. troops or military units specializing in using such guns

3. the science dealing with the use of guns

4. devices for discharging heavy missiles, such as catapults or slings

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Etymology

Origin of artillery

1350–1400; Middle English artil ( le ) rie, artelry, art ( u ) ry armaments, ballistic engines < Anglo-French, Middle French artillerie, equivalent to Old French artill ( ier ) to equip, arm, alteration, by association with art art ¹, of atill ( i ) er to set in order, put on armor (< Vulgar Latin *apticulāre, derivative of Latin aptāre to put on (armor, ornaments, etc.; see adapt); -i- for expected -ei- perhaps by association with atirier; see attire) + -erie -ery

Explanation

Artillery refers to large-caliber guns — guns with big barrels — which can be moved from one place to another for land battles. The artillery is also the name for the army unit that uses these big guns. If you're a military commander and you say, "Bring in the heavy artillery," you're ordering the artillery to move into place and get ready for action. But if you're talking to fellow members of your debate team and you say, “Bring in the heavy artillery,” you mean "bring in our best debaters, our heaviest hitters." Artillery can refer to one weapon or 100 — the singular and plural are the same.

Example Sentences

The weapon is the Army’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, each of which can fire six rockets or one missile at ranges of up to 185 miles.

From Slate • Apr. 24, 2026

Brigadier Lanckbeen served with the 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment based in Tarbes, and was deployed as part of Operation Sentinelle, a long-running domestic security operation.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Artillery and other weaponry can be placed in nearby trenches.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 2025

Artillery and other weaponry can be placed in nearby trenches.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 2025

“I may be blinder than any bat, but I got me a government-issue rifle. It was the one my husband, Mr. Hamline, carried when he fought with Captain Lilly’s Eighteenth Indiana Light Artillery at Chicamauga.”

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• battery
• cannon
• ordnance