hand grenade

noun

a grenade or explosive shell that is thrown by hand and exploded either by impact or by means of a fuze.
a grenade or glass missile containing a chemical, for extinguishing fire.

Origin of hand grenade

First recorded in 1655–65

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hand-grenade

Historical Examples of hand-grenade

"Pouches," perhaps a survival of the days of the hand-grenade.
Poems of American History
Various
One night, a hand-grenade fell out of the pocket of one of the wounded.
The New Book Of Martyrs
Georges Duhamel
What was visible of the face looked as if at some period it had stopped a hand-grenade.
The Red One
Jack London
He himself was wounded in the leg by the splinter of a hand-grenade.
History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain.
William H. Prescott
But playing around with Louis Akers is like playing with a hand-grenade, Edith.
A Poor Wise Man
Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for hand-grenade

hand grenade

noun

a small metal or plastic canister containing explosives, usually activated by a short fuse and used in close combat

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

Word Origin and History for hand-grenade

1660s, from hand (n.) + grenade, which at that time referred to any explosive missile.