petard

American  

[pi-tahrd] / pɪˈtɑrd /

noun

1. an explosive device formerly used in warfare to blow in a door or gate, form a breach in a wall, etc.

2. a kind of firecracker.

3. Also called Flying Dustbin. (initial capital letter) a British spigot mortar of World War II that fired a 40-pound (18-kilogram) finned bomb, designed to destroy pillboxes and other concrete obstacles.

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idioms

1. hoist by / with one's own petard, hurt, ruined, or destroyed by the very device or plot one had intended for another.

petard British  

/ pɪˈtɑːd /

noun

1. (formerly) a device containing explosives used to breach a wall, doors, etc

2. being the victim of one's own schemes

3. a type of explosive firework

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Etymology

Origin of petard

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French, equivalent to pet(er) “to break wind” (derivative of pet, from Latin pēditum “a breaking wind,” originally neuter of past participle of pēdere “to break wind”) + -ard noun suffix; see -ard

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Explanation

A petard was a very small bomb typically used for blowing holes in doors and gates, and not for bombing an entire troop or village. They had cannons for those bigger jobs. Just like the bomb itself, the word petard has mostly fallen out of use today. It may be familiar, however, from the phrase "hoist with your own petard," which comes from Shakespeare (though he called it a petar) and means "to be hurt by your own plan to hurt someone else," "to fall into your own trap," or, essentially, "to be blown up by your own bomb."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

petard

So Raven is about to be hoist with his own high-tech petard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026

As the accidental spokesperson for politically conscious casting, he’d rather not be hoisted on his own petard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2024

But she was hoisted by her own homophonous petard.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 3, 2021

But its most dramatic spectacle might be the sight of a facile, lazy enterprise being hoist on its own cynical petard.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2020

For what Jacobite, seeing the enemy hoist with his own petard could avoid a snigger?

From Shrewsbury A Romance by Stanley J. Weyman

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