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ammunition

[am-yuh-nish-uhn]

noun

the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon, as bombs or rockets, and especially shot, shrapnel, bullets, or shells fired by guns.

the means of igniting or exploding such material, as primers, fuzes, and gunpowder.

any material, means, weapons, etc., used in any conflict: a crude ammunition of stones.

information, advice, or supplies to help defend or attack a viewpoint, argument, or claim: Give me some ammunition for the debate.

Obsolete. any military supplies.

Origin:
1620–30; < Middle French amonitions, amunitions (plural) military supplies (a- a-⁵ + munition < Latin; see munition), or < French la munition, wrongly analyzed as l'amunition

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To ammunition

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Ammunition is always a great word to know.

So is bezoar. Does it mean:

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

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Example Sentences

The ammunition had been cobbled together from multiple sources.

Should there ever be an infringement later, you'll be glad to have this additional ammunition.

What does come as a shock, though, is the unmistakable sound of live ammunition.

EXPAND

The ammunition had been cobbled together from multiple sources.

Should there ever be an infringement later, you'll be glad to have this additional ammunition.

What does come as a shock, though, is the unmistakable sound of live ammunition.

They also carried supplies of rope, tools, and ammunition.

In today's politically charged environment, though, these routine corrections have become ammunition in the warming war.

There is a video game in which players fire antibiotic ammunition at bacteria.

Getting parts or ammunition for their standard rifles was not a problem.

Readers respond to an article about banning ammunition containing lead-core components.

They also carry ample political ammunition against anyone who might be implicated in them.

Behind them, thousands of rounds of ammunition were laid out on the ground.

As an added bonus, the government supplies ammunition free of charge.

The ammunition are intended for use while traveling to the army barracks in case of invasion.

The results of international tests give the homework skeptics ammunition.

The overflowing demand is spilling into the ammunition business.

Disorganization extends to matters as basic as making sure ample ammunition is provided to fighters.

If the buyer has a reputation for being lawsuit happy, you do not want to risk giving her any ammunition.

Police said they had to resort to live ammunition against protesters after running out of rubber bullets.

He had run out of ammunition and shot a rabbit using a hard stick for a bullet.

Weapons, ammunition and other supplies would not be able to be carried in such a small space.

The difference now is in the guidance, control and ammunition.

Calls about ammunition brought back by soldiers have become frequent for many law enforcement agencies.

She was on the verge of gunning down a woman when she ran out of ammunition.

Police have in some cases used live ammunition to cow demonstrators.

Keeping watch over everyone was a gunner in the tower, and he is armed with live ammunition.

The gun people certainly will scream at the heavy tax on ammunition.

Its ammunition lacked the stopping power of other rifle cartridges.

It makes tank ammunition, lightweight torpedoes, medium-caliber ammunition and infantry weapons.

If the support is as weak as it appears to be, then this is the time to keep your powder dry and to stock up on ammunition.

On the other hand, some chavistas have condemned the closure of a little-read paper as giving ammunition to the regime's critics.

The ammunition is stacked, rather than mechanically reloaded.

Its large common area has hardwood floors but is perfect for parking tanks, storing ammunition and conducting military drills.

They resist carrying rations or ammunition on patrol, preferring to forage from villages.

And the only moving parts in the weapon are the ammunition itself.

Waters, a convicted felon, to have the ammunition in his possession.

The pro-secular camp is widely believed to be keeping its own ammunition in reserve.

But what sets them apart from previous lines is the ammunition.

Still, his opposition to the hydrogen bomb earned him powerful enemies, and his politics gave them the ammunition to destroy him.

The student admitted to police that he was aware there were two guns and ammunition in a relative's house where he was living.

Comparing prisons is tricky, and that leaves plenty of ammunition for critics of private jails.

Of course, antievolution crusaders have figured out that language is the ammunition of culture wars.

As a result, they have used up all their ammunition tackling the current crisis.

That's the other great thing about this program, live ammunition.

They say that ammunition found in some raids was planted by the police.

All this is ammunition for those who argued all along that the lottery is a licence to waste money.

Little policy ammunition remains should the economy stumble again.

Encyclicals are the heaviest ammunition in the papacy's intellectual arsenal.

Arms and ammunition are decreasing in supply, but war is still going.

Hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition have been handed in, along with heavy machineguns and grenade-launchers.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

ammunition (ˌæmjʊˈnɪʃən)

—n
1.	any projectiles, such as bullets, rockets, etc, that can be discharged from a weapon
2.	bombs, missiles, chemicals, biological agents, nuclear materials, etc, capable of use as weapons
3.	any means of defence or attack, as in an argument

[C17: from obsolete French amunition, by mistaken division from earlier la munition; see munition]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

ammunition

1620s, from Fr. soldiers' faulty separation of M.Fr. la munition, from L. munitio "a fortifying," and at first meaning all military supplies in general. The mistake in the word perhaps was by infl. of Fr. a(d)monition "warning." The error was corrected in Fr. (Mod.Fr. munition), but retained in Eng.

EXPAND

Shortened form ammo is attested from 1917.

COLLAPSE

Slang Dictionary

ammunition definition

n.
toilet tissue. : Could somebody help me? We're out of ammunition in here!
n.
liquor. (See also shot.) : He's had about all the ammunition he can hold.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

ammunition

the projectiles and propelling charges used in small arms, artillery, and other guns. Ammunition size is usually expressed in terms of calibre, which is the diameter of the projectile as measured in millimetres or inches. In general, projectiles less than 20 mm or .60 inch in diameter are classified as small-arm, and larger calibres are considered artillery. A complete round of ammunition consists of all the components necessary for one firing of the gun. These normally include a projectile, the propellant, and a primer that ignites the propellant. Other components such as cartridge case, fuze, and bursting charge are frequently included.

Learn more about ammunition with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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ammunition

am·mu·ni·tion

ammunition definition