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Gunpowder - 5 dictionary results
gun⋅pow⋅der
[guhn-pou-der] 
dər
–noun
| 1. | an explosive mixture, as of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal, used in shells and cartridges, in fireworks, for blasting, etc. |
| 2. | Also called gunpowder tea. a fine variety of green China tea, each leaf of which is rolled into a little ball. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Language Translation for : Gunpowder
| Spanish: | pólvora, | German: | das Schießpulver, | Japanese: | 火薬 |
| gun·pow·der
(gŭn'pou'dər) Pronunciation Key
n. Any of various explosive powders used to propel projectiles from guns, especially a black mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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gunpowder
1411, from gun + powder. The Gunpowder Plot was the conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parliament on Nov. 5, 1605, while the King, Lords and Commons were assembled there.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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| gunpowder | |
noun | |
| a mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulfur in a 75:15:10 ratio which is used in gunnery, time fuses, and fireworks |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Gunpowder
Gun"pow`der\, n. (Chem.) A black, granular, explosive substance, consisting of an intimate mechanical mixture of niter, charcoal, and sulphur. It is used in gunnery and blasting. Note: Gunpowder consists of from 70 to 80 per cent of niter, with 10 to 15 per cent of each of the other ingredients. Its explosive energy is due to the fact that it contains the necessary amount of oxygen for its own combustion, and liberates gases (chiefly nitrogen and carbon dioxide), which occupy a thousand or fifteen hundred times more space than the powder which generated them. Gunpowder pile driver, a pile driver, the hammer of which is thrown up by the explosion of gunpowder. Gunpowder plot (Eng. Hist.), a plot to destroy the King, Lords, and Commons, in revenge for the penal laws against Catholics. As Guy Fawkes, the agent of the conspirators, was about to fire the mine, which was placed under the House of Lords, he was seized, Nov. 5, 1605. Hence, Nov. 5 is known in England as Guy Fawkes Day. Gunpowder tea, a species of fine green tea, each leaf of which is rolled into a small ball or pellet.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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