casualty

[kazh-oo-uh l-tee]

See more synonyms for casualty on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural cas·u·al·ties.

Military.
1. a member of the armed forces lost to service through death, wounds, sickness, capture, or because his or her whereabouts or condition cannot be determined.
2. casualties,loss in numerical strength through any cause, as death, wounds, sickness, capture, or desertion.
one who is injured or killed in an accident: There were no casualties in the traffic accident.
any person, group, thing, etc., that is harmed or destroyed as a result of some act or event: Their house was a casualty of the fire.

a serious accident, especially one involving bodily injury or death.

Origin of casualty

1375–1425; casual + -ty²; replacing late Middle English casuelte, equivalent to casuel (see casual) + -te -ty²

Can be confusedcasualty causality

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for casualties

blow, calamity, catastrophe, mishap, disaster, injured, wounded, dead, fatality, loss, chance, misfortune, debacle, contingency, misadventure, prey, sufferer, missing

Examples from the Web for casualties

Contemporary Examples of casualties

Thankfully there were no casualties—the driver managed to stop the train immediately.
Is Putin Turning to Terrorism in Ukraine?
Anna Nemtsova
January 6, 2015
Among the casualties with the most dangerous implications for their future is education.
The Radio Battle to Educate Ebola’s Kids
Abby Haglage
December 11, 2014
Like Cohen, many of these casualties were white Democrats from below the Mason-Dixon Line.
Southern Dems Won’t Rise Again
Ben Jacobs
December 5, 2014
Add the fighting before that, and the American casualties came to over 62,000.
Blood in the Sand: When James Jones Wrote a Grunt’s View of D-Day
James Jones
November 15, 2014
PKK sources say they suffered no casualties—they insist there was also an artillery bombardment on their bases.
Whose Side Is Turkey On?
Jamie Dettmer
October 15, 2014

Historical Examples of casualties

In the last half dozen years there had not been three casualties.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
Yet they were subject to a raking fire that cost them hundreds of casualties.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
On the Union side the casualties were one killed, and two wounded.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
Their casualties were reported as three killed and twelve wounded.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
By this time, however, the casualties had ceased to excite attention; they were too numerous.
The Downfall
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for casualties

casualty

noun plural -ties

a serviceman who is killed, wounded, captured, or missing as a result of enemy action
a person who is injured or killed in an accident
a hospital department in which victims of accidents, violence, etc, are treated
anything that is lost, damaged, or destroyed as the result of an accident, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for casualties

casualty

early 15c., "chance, accident; incidental charge," from casual (adj.) on model of royalty, penalty, etc. Casuality had some currency 16c.-17c. but is now obsolete. Meaning "losses in numbers from a military or other troop" is from late 15c. Meaning "an individual killed, wounded, or lost in battle" is from 1844.