cordite

[kawr-dahyt]

noun

a smokeless, slow-burning powder composed of 30 to 58 percent nitroglycerin, 37 to 65 percent cellulose nitrate, and 5 to 6 percent mineral jelly.

Nearby words

Origin of cordite

1885–90; cord + -ite¹, so called from its cordlike form

Also called pyrocellulose.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cordite

By now the air in the room was awful, hanging with the smell of cordite, lit only by the muzzle flashes.
Navy Seal Training: The Start of Hell Week|Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson|May 8, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Cordite mingled with the raw, nauseant, revolting smell of scorched flesh and hair.
Operation Lorelie|William P. Salton
A few sharp blasts of cordite and the submarine sagged and disappeared.
Submarine Warfare of To-day|Charles W. Domville-Fife
You hadn't been gone a week and two days when the cordite bomb was exploded.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 109, July 6, 1895|Various

England wanted Cordite, one form of this powder which the British think is the best propellant in the world.
Kelly Miller's History of the World War for Human Rights|Kelly Miller
Only the shells were wanting, for with the gun were 50 charged "hulzen" and a case of cordite "schokbuizen."
My Reminiscences of the Anglo-Boer War|Ben Viljoen.

British Dictionary definitions for cordite

cordite

noun

any of various explosive materials used for propelling bullets, shells, etc, containing cellulose nitrate, sometimes mixed with nitroglycerine, plasticizers, and stabilizers

Word Origin for cordite

C19: from cord + -ite 1, referring to its stringy appearance

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

Word Origin and History for cordite

cordite

smokeless explosive, 1889, from cord + -ite (2); so called for its "curiously string-like appearance" in the words of a newspaper of the day.

Science definitions for cordite

cordite

[kôr′dīt′]

An explosive powder consisting of nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin, and petroleum jelly, used as a propellant for guns. It does not generate smoke and is shaped into cords.