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

"The successful rescue of the pupils, without casualty, was the result of professional intelligence and operational precision," he added.

From BBC

Official casualty numbers are not released by Moscow, but the UK's Ministry of Defence says more than 1.2 million Russian troops have been killed or injured since the full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.

From BBC

While Russia has long been able to attract volunteers to the war with large payments, there are signs that recruitment is now struggling to keep pace with casualties.

From The Wall Street Journal

ACC Beck said police arrived at the scene within 12 minutes and "administered CPR to a number of casualties".

From BBC

"Lucy was first on the scene and worked relentlessly to treat casualties and ensure every Guardsman was accounted for and safe," the regiment said.

From BBC

Related Words

• blow
• calamity
• catastrophe
• disaster
• mishap