arsenal

American  

[ahr-suh-nl, ahrs-nuhl] / ˈɑr sə nl, ˈɑrs nəl /

noun

arsenals plural

1. a place of storage or a magazine containing arms and military equipment for land or naval service.

2. a government establishment where military equipment or munitions are manufactured.

3. a collection or supply of weapons or munitions.

4. a collection or supply of anything; store.

   He came to the meeting with an impressive arsenal of new research data.

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arsenal British  

/ ˈɑːsənəl /

noun

1. a store for arms, ammunition, and other military items

2. a workshop or factory that produces munitions

3. a store of anything regarded as weapons

   an arsenal of destructive arguments

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• arsenals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of arsenal

1500–10; (< Middle French ) < Italian arzanale < Upper Italian ( Venetian ) arzanà dockyard < Arabic dār ṣināʿah workshop (literally, house of handwork); initial d probably taken as a form of the preposition di from

Explanation

An arsenal is a storehouse for weapons. It wouldn't be wise to let your enemies get a hold of the keys to your arsenal. Not just a place to store weapons, an arsenal can be a place to make weapons or it can mean the collection of weapons themselves: "The air force had just added two top-secret fighter planes to its arsenal." In a more general sense, the word can be a collection of anything used as a weapon, not just military weapons: "She had a whole arsenal of witty comebacks for the lame pickup-lines guys tried out on her."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arsenal arsenals

Washington has been frustrated by signs Beijing is quickly expanding its arsenal and rebuffing its efforts to discuss arms control.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

“He went from paring down his arsenal to kind of two pitches, to regrow his arsenal while he’s learning how to pitch at this level,” Prior said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

As the US steadily reduces its defence commitments to Europe, the race is on to build up credible air defences against Russia's growing arsenal of powerful missiles and drones.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

The company is “rebuilding the arsenal of freedom,” wrote Baird analyst Peter Arment in a Monday report.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

She was still the Muse of Nightmares after all, and there were visions of Isagol in her arsenal that would have woken him screaming.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

The current nuclear countries could reduce their arsenals by a lot, without losing anything in terms of deterrence.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

Will the services be able to restock their arsenals of missiles and munitions, much of which have been given to Ukraine?

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

He cited depleted arsenals because of the wars in Iran and Ukraine as the reason.

From Barron's ● May 3, 2026

In many cases, foreign sales offset a large share of the costs that the U.S. armed services incur in buying the weapons for their own arsenals.

From Slate ● Apr. 24, 2026

Our arsenals for fighting off bacteria are so powerful, and involve so many different defense mechanisms, that we are in more danger from them than from the invaders.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas