casualty

American  

[kazh-oo-uhl-tee] / ˈkæʒ u əl ti /

noun

plural

casualties

1. Military.

   1. a member of the armed forces lost to service through death, wounds, sickness, capture, or because their whereabouts or condition cannot be determined.

   2. casualties, loss in numerical strength through any cause, as death, wounds, sickness, capture, or desertion.

2. one who is injured or killed in an accident.

   There were no casualties in the traffic accident.

3. 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.

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

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casualty British  

/ ˈkæʒjʊəltɪ /

noun

1. a serviceman who is killed, wounded, captured, or missing as a result of enemy action

2. a person who is injured or killed in an accident

3. a hospital department in which victims of accidents, violence, etc, are treated

4. anything that is lost, damaged, or destroyed as the result of an accident, etc

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Etymology

Origin of casualty

First recorded in 1375–1425; casual + -ty ²; replacing late Middle English casuelte, equivalent to casuel ( casual ) + -te -ty ²

Example Sentences

Despite a lengthening casualty list, Guardiola has said the current situation is not the same as last season.

From BBC

Nash Paragas, a rescuer in the eastern province of Davao Oriental, told AFP there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

From Barron's

Captain Ben Stokes left the field on the fourth morning of the fifth Ashes Test to become yet another casualty of England's awful Ashes tour.

From BBC

Once a staple of professional life, happy hour is now a casualty of a corporate cultural reset.

From The Wall Street Journal

It recorded more than 2,000 casualties in Myanmar in 2024, the latest full statistics available -- double the total reported the year before.

From Barron's

Related Words

• blow
• calamity
• catastrophe
• disaster
• mishap