chemical warfare
- warfare with asphyxiating, poisonous, or corrosive gases, oil flames, etc.
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Origin of chemical warfare
First recorded in 1915–20
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for chemical warfare
Historical Examples
It was originally estimated that $250,000 would provide a plant at Edgewood sufficient for our chemical-warfare needs.
America's Munitions 1917-1918Benedict Crowell
chemical warfare
- warfare in which chemicals other than explosives are used as weapons, esp warfare using asphyxiating or nerve gases, poisons, defoliants, etc
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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
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.
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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.