gunpowder
Americannoun
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an explosive mixture, as of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal, used in shells and cartridges, in fireworks, for blasting, etc.
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Also called gunpowder tea. a fine variety of green China tea, each leaf of which is rolled into a little ball.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gunpowder
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at gun 1, powder 1
Vocabulary lists containing gunpowder
East Asia - Middle School
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East Asia - High School
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Civil Engineering
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After the war began in Ukraine, the explosives manufacturer Eurenco invested 200 million euros, or about $230 million, to revive French gunpowder production at a government-owned site on the outskirts of Bergerac.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
His mother doesn't acknowledge that Ruben is a loose cannon loaded with vast quantities of gunpowder.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
A separate gunpowder factory will also be built in Sopot.
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026
The scene was pure chaos: thick smoke from gunpowder still hanging in the air, water cascading from ruptured pipes in the ceiling, alarms blaring, strobe lights flashing.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2025
The dry cottonwood chunks burned like gunpowder in the stove.
From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
