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
- gunpowdery adjective
Etymology
Origin of gunpowder
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; gun 1, powder 1
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 vowed to stabilize investment with more fiscal gunpowder from the central government, according to the Xinhua readout of the gathering.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025
Though the conquistadors enjoyed superior technology, including steel weapons and gunpowder, European diseases such as smallpox and measles proved more decisive, taking untold millions of indigenous lives.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025
The 67-year-old artist made his name with gunpowder paintings and outdoor pyrotechnic displays.
From BBC • Sep. 22, 2025
Combine sand and gunpowder and thwack, you’ve made a brick of TNT.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2025
The sharp smell of gunpowder immediately made my lungs tighten.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
