shrapnel

noun

shrap·​nel ˈshrap-nᵊl 

 especially Southern  ˈsrap-

plural shrapnel

1

: a projectile that consists of a case provided with a powder charge and a large number of usually lead balls and that is exploded in flight

2

: bomb, mine, or shell fragments

Examples of shrapnel in a Sentence

He has a piece of shrapnel in his leg.

Shrapnel from the explosion wounded many people.

Recent Examples on the Web

Pieces of shrapnel had reached Dallou’s home and terrified his young children. —Zeena Saifi, CNN, 24 Jan. 2025

Investigators walked up and down the street, reaching into the rushing water to look for pieces of shrapnel, and some shopkeepers tried to get through the police cordon. —Cassandra Vinograd, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2025

The dispersion of shrapnel is associated with explosives. —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025

Colin lost his leg to a shark while surfing in Hawaii; Sydney nearly bled out after shrapnel from the Boston Marathon bombing pierced her femoral artery. —Longreads, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Henry Shrapnel †1842 English artillery officer

First Known Use

1806, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

shrapnel

noun

shrap·​nel ˈshrap-nᵊl 

plural shrapnel

1

: a shell designed to burst and scatter metal balls with which it is filled along with jagged fragments of the case

2

: metal pieces from an exploded bomb, shell, or mine