cordite

[ kawr-dahyt ]

/ ˈkɔr daɪt /

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noun

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

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Also called pyrocellulose.

Origin of cordite

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

Words nearby cordite

Cordillera Oriental, Cordillera Real, Cordilleras, cording, cordis, cordite, cordless, cordless telephone, cordo-, cordoba, cord of tympanum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use cordite in a sentence

It’s not even gunshot residue on the hands of your prime suspect, but there is a distinct whiff of cordite in the air which may be suggesting something.
Signs of Life on Venus Hint at Biology Pretty Much Anywhere in the Universe|Jeffrey Kluger|September 15, 2020|Time
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
Its weight is staggering, and it shoots a solid ball, backed up by a fearful charge of cordite.
In Africa|John T. McCutcheon
Up another gangway enough cordite to blow up the whole of Liverpool was being gingerly carried in small cases.
The Relief of Mafeking|Filson Young

His feet were scorched with burning cordite, and momentarily he released his grip of his enemy's throat, which he had seized.
The Daffodil Mystery|Edgar Wallace
A bursting shell had started a fire among some cordite charges in the casemate.
The Heroic Record of the British Navy|Archibald Hurd
A high velocity cordite rifle is dangerous to the country people, and some rifle firing black powder should be used.
The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir|Sir James McCrone Douie

British Dictionary definitions for cordite

cordite

/ (ˈkɔːdaɪt) /

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

Scientific 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.