arsenal

American  

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

noun

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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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

"Think about it. There is a country that has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers," Koizumi said at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

From Barron's • May 31, 2026

"There's a country that has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers," he said, in a reference to China.

From BBC • May 31, 2026

The U.S. is moving quickly to close any strategic gap in its drone arsenal.

From Barron's • May 28, 2026

By rolling his defender and facing the opposition's goal when the game becomes stretched, he has added to his arsenal of assists by playing through balls to Erling Haaland running in behind.

From BBC • May 16, 2026

In mid-1775 someone in Bermuda, a British colony off the coast of North Carolina, reported that the royal arsenal at St. George’s Island, Bermuda, was full of gunpowder and had no guards around it.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen