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

On the opening night of its “Life Burns Faster” stand, Metallica had a 16k-resolution arsenal to match the bombast of its music.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

The supersonic aircraft are a key part of the US's combat arsenal.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

“The shortfall would become especially problematic if a conflict arose with an opponent whose arsenal included large numbers of ballistic and cruise missiles,” according to the report, adding China maintains such an arsenal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

But to the extent Kim responds to other leaders’ signals, Trump’s comment may move him to accelerate the expansion of Pyongyang’s arsenal.

From Slate ● Sep. 10, 2026

That he knows the audience will be wondering why he hasn’t used the most persuasive argument in his arsenal.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

A third of Americans have guns; mny of them have small arsenals in their homes.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

Fantasy franchises are potent weapons in streaming’s race to build content arsenals.

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026

The attacks hit Russian naval arsenals and a naval base in the town of Kronstadt just west of St. Petersburg, Zelensky said in a statement on social media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Ukraine's president said his forces hit Russia's arsenals and a naval base in what he called a just response to Russian attacks.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 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