guncotton

[ guhn-kot-n ]

/ ˈgʌnˌkɒt n /

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noun

a highly explosive nitrocellulose, made by breaking down clean cotton in a mixture of one part nitric acid and three parts sulfuric acid: used in making smokeless powder.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of guncotton

First recorded in 1840–50; gun¹ + cotton

Words nearby guncotton

gunboat diplomacy, gun brig, gun camera, gun carriage, gun control, guncotton, gun crew, gun deck, gundi, gun dog, gunfight

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use guncotton in a sentence

And suddenly Guncotton produced his will-o-the-wisp trick, which completed the illusion.
My Austrian Love|Maxime Provost
These are crumbling in places, and the Pioneers might destroy the bastion and breach the wall with a bag or two of guncotton.
The Unveiling of Lhasa|Edmund Candler
The soldiers formed a square round the gun, charged it with guncotton, shouted 'Stand back!'
With Steyn and De Wet|Philip Pienaar
For this purpose electric fuzes (for powder) or electric detonators (for guncotton or other high explosive) are employed.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6|Various

Some very good bombs were made from jam-tins with a wad of guncotton, and filled up with all manner of missiles.
"Over There" with the Australians|R. Hugh Knyvett

British Dictionary definitions for guncotton

guncotton

/ (ˈɡʌnˌkɒtən) /

noun

cellulose nitrate containing a relatively large amount of nitrogen: used as an explosive

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