ammunition

[am-yuh-nish-uh n]

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.

Nearby words

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

It was with this ammunition that Australians organized protests at events where Blanc was scheduled to appear.
The Secret World of Pickup Artist Julien Blanc|Brandy Zadrozny|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When Louise and Bibi returned to their home, they found it strewn with ammunition and pockmarked with mortar craters.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A burly Belgian, strapped with grenades and ammunition, towered above them.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When we asked about where the ammunition in the Korengal came from, all that Zalwar Khan ever said was, “They came from Allah.”
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley|Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The battalion also is short of ammunition, Sergei says, but he insists he would still like to return to battle.
Corruption Eats Away at Ukraine Military|Charles McPhedran|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A French fleet arrived in May, with provisions, clothing, and ammunition.
An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800|Mary Frances Cusack
Hadn't we better go up to the town and purchase a few rifles and some ammunition?
A Bid for Fortune|Guy Boothby
But as far as I recollect, that warning, inexorable as it was, only touched the question of ammunition.
Experiences of a Dug-out, 1914-1918|Sir Stanley Maude
This fact accounts for the comparatively little mischief they did in proportion to the quantity of ammunition thrown away.
The History of the First West India Regiment|A. B. Ellis
We had not more than three or four rounds of ammunition for each musket; and not so much, should we again have to load the guns.
The Young Llanero|W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for ammunition

ammunition

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

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.