war surplus

American  

noun

1. equipment, supplies, etc., originally used by or manufactured for the armed forces, but disposed of cheaply as surplus or obsolete.

   He made his fortune in war surplus.

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Etymology

Origin of war surplus

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

One of the war surplus weapons that entered the United States by the millions in the decade before the Gun Control Act of 1968 would prohibit the practice was Oswald’s Carcano.

From Slate • Nov. 22, 2023

In the autumn of 1949, Bridoux was in Washington to take possession of a war surplus P-38 Lightning destined for the Bolivian air force.

From Washington Post • Aug. 21, 2021

She started working as a secretary in a war surplus company in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 30, 2019

As a young man he built a working television set from war surplus items and junk in the garage.

From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2017

One of their $800,000 electronic devices for their oil explorations turned out to be a $4.00 piece of war surplus junk.

From The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects by Ruppelt, Edward J.