definitions
  • synonyms

ammunition

[ am-yuh-nish-uh n ]
/ ˌæm yəˈnɪʃ ən /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ammunition ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon, as bombs or rockets, and especially shot, shrapnel, bullets, or shells fired by guns.
the means of igniting or exploding such material, as primers, fuzes, and gunpowder.
any material, means, weapons, etc., used in any conflict: a crude ammunition of stones.
information, advice, or supplies to help defend or attack a viewpoint, argument, or claim: Give me some ammunition for the debate.
Obsolete. any military supplies.

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RELATED WORDS

armament, bomb, bullet, cartridge, rocket, materiel, missile, chemical, explosive, shrapnel, torpedo, gunpowder, ammo, napalm, shell, shot, fuse, grenade, charge

Nearby words

ammonolysis, ammonolyze, ammons, ammons, a. r., ammophilous, ammunition, amn, amn't, amne machin shan, amnesia, amnesiac

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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ammunition

British Dictionary definitions for ammunition

ammunition

/ (ˌæmjʊˈnɪʃən) /

noun

any projectiles, such as bullets, rockets, etc, that can be discharged from a weapon
bombs, missiles, chemicals, biological agents, nuclear materials, etc, capable of use as weapons
any means of defence or attack, as in an argument

Word Origin for ammunition

C17: from obsolete French amunition, by mistaken division from earlier la munition; see munition
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

Word Origin and History for ammunition

ammunition

n.

1620s, from French soldiers' faulty separation of Middle French la munition into l'ammunition; from Latin munitionem (nominative munitio) "a fortifying" (see munition), and at first meaning all military supplies in general. The mistake in the word perhaps was by influence of French a(d)monition "warning." The error was corrected in French (Modern French munition), but retained in English.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper