chemical weapon

American  

[kem-i-kuhl wep-uhn] / ˈkɛm ɪ kəl ˈwɛp ən /

noun

chemical weapons plural

1. any poisonous, asphyxiating, or corrosive chemical agent designed or intended to incapacitate, harm, or kill a targeted military or civilian group. CW

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chemical weapons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chemical weapon

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chemical weapon

To make its powerful chemical weapon, the organism had to solve a problem.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 13, 2023

Because it has legal uses, white phosphorus is not banned as a chemical weapon under international conventions, but it can cause serious burns and start fires.

From Reuters ● Oct. 12, 2023

Last Friday, the US destroyed its last chemical weapon at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky.

From NewsForKids.net ● Jul. 11, 2023

“That’s the sound of a chemical weapon dying,” said Kingston Reif, who spent years pushing for disarmament outside government and is now the deputy assistant secretary of defense for threat reduction and arms control.

From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2023

Whatever international disarmament decisions may be forthcoming, unless they seriously dismember the Defence Ministries, we should ensure that the pre-war position is corrected and that our staff conception and organisation covers the chemical weapon.

From The Riddle of the Rhine; chemical strategy in peace and war by Lefebure, Victor