casualty

noun

ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈka-zhəl-tē How to pronounce casualty (audio)
ˈkazh-wəl-,
ˈka-zhə-wəl- How to pronounce casualty (audio)
plural casualties
1
a
: a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action
The army sustained heavy casualties.
b
: a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed : victim
the ex-senator was a casualty of the last election
2
: serious or fatal accident : disaster
losses from fire, storm, or other casualtyJ. S. Seidman
3
archaic : chance, fortune
losses that befall them by mere casualtySir Walter Raleigh

Examples of casualty in a Sentence

a low number of casualties the real casualties in the war against drugs are millions of innocent children
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The dead included a mother and her five children, some of them adults, and a second mother with her six children, according to an initial casualty list provided by the emergency service. Wafaa Shurafa, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024 Why so many civilian casualties, especially children? Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Oct. 2024 Her mother’s fierce protection ensured Ronan never became a casualty of Hollywood’s darker side. Clayton Davis, Variety, 25 Oct. 2024 Officials believe weapons stockpile points to ‘potential mass casualty event’ More than 120 guns and more than 250,000 rounds of ammunition were found at Kelly’s home following his arrest, prosecutors said at Kelly’s initial court appearance Wednesday. Kelly McCleary, CNN, 24 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for casualty 

Word History

Etymology

see casual entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of casualty was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near casualty

Cite this Entry

“Casualty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/casualty. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

casualty

noun
ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈkazh-əl-tē How to pronounce casualty (audio)
ˈkazh-(ə-)wəl-
plural casualties
1
: a serious or fatal accident : disaster
2
a
: a military person lost (as by death or capture) during warfare
b
: a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed

Medical Definition

casualty

noun
ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈkazh-əl-tē, ˈkazh-(ə-)wəl- How to pronounce casualty (audio)
plural casualties
1
: a serious or fatal accident
2
: a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action
3
a
: injury or death from accident
b
: one injured or killed (as by accident)

Legal Definition

casualty

noun
ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈka-zhəl-tē, ˈka-zhə-wəl- How to pronounce casualty (audio)
plural casualties
1
: an unfortunate occurrence
especially : a serious and often disastrous accident
conversion of property…arising from fire, storm, shipwreck, or other casualty Internal Revenue Code
2
: something lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed see also casualty gain at gain, casualty loss at loss

More from Merriam-Webster on casualty

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