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

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Etymology

Origin of chemical weapon

First recorded in 1910–15

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chemical weapon

Given there are safer and more conventional riot-control agents available to police, an obsolete and more potent agent could be classed as a chemical weapon, according to weapons experts consulted by the BBC.

From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025

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

We see thus how, on general grounds, the chemical weapon tends to evade any normal condition of limitation which might be perfectly adequate for the mechanical type.

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

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