conventional weapon

American  

noun

1. a nonnuclear weapon.

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Etymology

Origin of conventional weapon

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

“I took any conventional weapon that we had off the prop truck and locked it in the safe,” Reeder recalled.

From New York Times • Nov. 25, 2023

“They have no plan to replace it with either a nuclear or conventional weapon and readily admit that they are assuming risk in this space,” the aide said.

From Washington Times • Apr. 4, 2022

Nevertheless, Hersey’s unsparing journalism, Blume argues, made impossible any further discussion of the bomb as a conventional weapon, and his understated, matter-of-fact presentation of horrific facts facilitated the implementation of deterrence, which has been successful.

From Washington Post • Aug. 4, 2020

In April, North Korea tested a new weapon, which it called a “tactical guided weapon,” and which is thought to have been a more conventional weapon.

From Slate • May 4, 2019

When the so-called Mother of All Bombs was first tested, in 2003, the largest conventional weapon in the United States arsenal set off a mushroom cloud visible for twenty miles.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 14, 2017