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shrapnel

/ˈʃɹæpnəl/

Meanings
noun
An anti-personnel artillery shell used in WWI which carries a large number of individual bullets close to the target and then ejects them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike the target individually.

Examples :

"During the old war movie, the soldiers ducked for cover as shrapnel rained down around them from the exploding artillery shells. "
military weapon war history

Related Words

Illustration individual

individual noun

/ˌɘndɘˈvɘd͡ʒɘl/ /ˌɪndəˈ-/

A person considered alone, rather than as belonging to a group of people.

"He is an unusual individual."

Illustration fragments

fragments noun

/fɹæɡˈmɛnts/

A part broken off; a small, detached portion; an imperfect part, either physically or not

"I heard a small fragment of the conversation."

Illustration landmine

landmine noun

/ˈlændmaɪn/

A mine that is placed on land and designed to explode when stepped upon or touched.

""The soldiers carefully searched the field for any sign of a landmine." "

Illustration trajectory

trajectory noun

/tɹəˈdʒɛktəɹɪ/

The path an object takes as it moves.

"The trajectory of the ball as it flew through the air was a beautiful arc. "

Illustration buildings

buildings noun

/ˈbɪldɪŋz/

The act or process by which something is built; construction.

"The building of the bridge will be completed in a couple of weeks."

Illustration collective

collective noun

/kəˈlɛktɪv/

A farm owned by a collection of people

"The collective was struggling to afford new equipment for the farm. "

Illustration soldiers

soldiers noun

/ˈsɒldʒəz/ /ˈsoʊldʒɚz/

A member of an army, of any rank.

"The soldiers marched in the parade, wearing their uniforms. "

Illustration personnel

personnel noun

/-el/ /pɜː.səˈnɛl/ /pɝ.səˈnɛl/

Employees; office staff.

"The school's personnel department handles hiring new teachers. "

Illustration exploding

exploding verb

/ɪkˈsploʊdɪŋ/ /ɛkˈsploʊdɪŋ/

To destroy with an explosion.

"The assassin exploded the car by means of a car bomb."

Illustration individually

individually adverb

/ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒuəli/ /ˌɪndɪˈvɪdʒəwəli/

As individuals, separately, independently

"The students completed their assignments individually. "

Illustration continue

continue noun

/kənˈtɪnjuː/

An option allowing a gamer to resume play after game over, when all lives have been lost.

"The game offered a "continue" option, allowing me to resume playing after I lost all my lives. "

Illustration artillery

artillery noun

/ɑːˈtɪləɹi/ /ɑɹˈtɪləɹi/

Large cannon-like weapons, transportable and usually operated by more than one person.

"The army used artillery to destroy the enemy's fortifications. "