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. 2019

Examples from the Web for hand-grenade

Had a hand-grenade with the fuse alight been dropped upon the table, the consternation could scarce have been greater.
The Master of Appleby|Francis Lynde
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
Always under potential fire and for three years within range of the deadly machine gun and hand-grenade.
Chit-Chat; Nirvana; The Searchlight|Mathew Joseph Holt
His wife in the flesh stood at his feet with a hand-grenade and a rifle, daggers and pistols in her belt.
Vittoria, Complete|George Meredith

The woman showed them a very old palm, with a hole in it made by a hand-grenade in the year '49.
Csar or Nothing|Po Baroja Baroja

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

hand-grenade

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

hand grenade

noun

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Origin of hand grenade

Examples from the Web for hand-grenade

hand grenade

noun

hand-grenade