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.
Authorities said that two gunpowder warehouses within the factory area posed a high risk amid rescue efforts, state media reported.
From BBC • May 4, 2026
His mother doesn't acknowledge that Ruben is a loose cannon loaded with vast quantities of gunpowder.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
When gunpowder arrived and the emerging nation-states rendered obsolete the old art of war dominated by feudal lords entrenched in their castles.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
They likened AI’s potential to transform the military to gunpowder, a technology invented in China but more effectively weaponized, many in China believe, by others.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2026
They aimed it directly at the thickest part of the fortress wall and packed it full of gunpowder.
From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster
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.
