black powder

American  

noun

1. an explosive powder consisting of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal, used chiefly in old guns fired for sport, in fireworks, and for spotting charges in practice bombs; black gunpowder.

---

black powder British  

noun

1. another name for gunpowder

---

Example Sentences

Among the dozens and dozens of weapons hanging on the wall for sale are double barrel black powder shotguns – akin to a musket – and a few "they-don't-make-these-anymore" Winchester rifles from the 1800s.

From BBC • Dec. 23, 2024

The actual explanation, which the team was convinced best explained the stones, was that the holes were chiseled out to take black powder to blast and break up the stones when clearing fields.

From Slate • Nov. 11, 2023

This takes the form of a finely ground black powder dissolved in a transparent liquid -- oxalic acid.

From Science Daily • Oct. 17, 2023

In Virginia, sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene when a group of children detected their way to a 150-year-old Union Army cannonball that could have contained explosive black powder.

From New York Times • May 31, 2021

The sand is never poured down the hole; the black powder and fuse sit exposed at the bottom.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman