fléchette

[fley-shet]

noun, plural flé·chettes [fley-shets; French fley-shet] /fleɪˈʃɛts; French fleɪˈʃɛt/.

Military. a small, dartlike metal projectile used as shrapnel in antipersonnel bombs and shells.

a bullet with a thin, hard metal spine, designed to tumble on impact and thus cause an incapacitating wound.

Origin of fléchette

From French, dating back to 1910–15; see origin at flèche, -ette

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

British Dictionary definitions for flechette

fléchette

noun

a steel dart or missile dropped from an aircraft, as in World War I

Word Origin for fléchette

from French; see flèche

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