cordite

American  

[kawr-dahyt] / ˈkɔr daɪt /

noun

1. 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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cordite British  

/ ˈkɔːdaɪt /

noun

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

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cordite Scientific  

/ kôr′dīt′ /

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of cordite

First recorded in 1885–90; cord + -ite ¹, so called from its cordlike form

Example Sentences

Blue smoke and the smell of cordite filled the air as Everton's team coach arrived, the area around the players entrance packed with supporters.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2025

Over the course of “The Fire This Time,” like cordite in your nostrils, this scene remains with you.

From New York Times • Aug. 16, 2016

Adams is beholden to multiple constituencies, and for some faction of supporters his charisma has always derived, at least in part, from the whiff of cordite.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 9, 2015

This fixture invariably leaves a smell of burnt cordite in its wake and when the teams meet in football's oldest competition the atmosphere is never less than explosive.

From The Guardian • Jan. 7, 2011

The air was full of dust, and of the cordite smell of smashed rock.

From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman