cannon fodder
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of cannon fodder
First recorded in 1890–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Remember, the Revolutionary Guard was founded to provide cannon fodder during the Iraq-Iran War.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
Brenda Doherty: 'My mummy was not cannon fodder'
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2023
“If they need more cannon fodder, that is what they’ll be doing,” he said.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 13, 2022
In 1912, my grandfather fled to the United States to avoid becoming cannon fodder for the army of the czar.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2022
When misfortune and lack of cannon fodder oppressed him, Napoleon became again the practical man not blinded by his supremacy.
From Battle Studies by Charles Jean Jacques Joseph Ardant du Picq
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
