Minié ball

[ min-ee, min-ee-ey; French mee-nyey ]

/ ˈmɪn i, ˈmɪn iˌeɪ; French miˈnyeɪ /

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noun

a conical bullet with a hollow base that expanded when fired, used in the 19th century.

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Origin of Minié ball

1855–60; named after C. E. Minié (1814–79), French officer who invented it

Words nearby Minié ball

Minicoy Island, minicycle, minidisc, minidish, minidress, Minié ball, minify, Minigun, minikin, minilab, minilaparotomy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Minié ball in a sentence

One of the kids had a ball in his hand, and Cuomo took it and tossed it back and forth to an eight year old.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light|Mike Barnicle|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Instead of going for the hole, I hit the ball directly into the water.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There is only sand, a white ball, and a flag indicating the hole.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
If the ball gets in the hole, the screen shifts to reveal the next hole.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

When the game starts, there is only sand, a white ball, a flag indicating hole 1, and a “0” at the top of the screen.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was little better than coal dust, and would not carry a ball fifty paces to kill or wound.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
A view of the duchess's ball-room, or of the dining-table of the earl, will supersede all occasion for lengthy fiddle-faddle.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
He had not the least idea what wadding was, and his notion of a bullet was a dockyard cannon-ball bigger than his own head.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
On the night of June the 11th a red-hot cannon-ball set fire to one of the barracks which was used as a hospital.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
At two o'clock, the general of the Carnival opens the public ball with the Mugnaia.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills

British Dictionary definitions for Minié ball

Minié ball

/ (ˈmɪnɪˌeɪ, French miɲe) /

noun

a conical rifle bullet, used in the 19th century, manufactured with a hollow base designed to expand when fired to fit the rifling

Word Origin for Minié ball

C19: named after Capt C. E. Minié (1814–1879), French army officer who invented it

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