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definitions

chemical warfare

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noun

warfare with asphyxiating, poisonous, or corrosive gases, oil flames, etc.

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Nearby words

chemical repair, chemical sensitivity, chemical sympathectomy, chemical toilet, chemical toner, chemical warfare, chemical weathering, chemically, chemico-, chemigraphy, chemiluminescence

Origin of chemical warfare

First recorded in 1915–20
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chemical warfare

  • It was originally estimated that $250,000 would provide a plant at Edgewood sufficient for our chemical-warfare needs.

    America's Munitions 1917-1918|Benedict Crowell

British Dictionary definitions for chemical warfare

chemical warfare

noun

warfare in which chemicals other than explosives are used as weapons, esp warfare using asphyxiating or nerve gases, poisons, defoliants, 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

Culture definitions for chemical warfare

chemical warfare

The use of chemical agents as a weapon of war or terror. From the mustard gas used in World War I to the highly lethal neurotoxin Sarin that is potentially available for use today, chemicals are considered a weapon of mass destruction, and their use is condemned by most civilized nations.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.