artillery
noun
ar·til·lery
är-ˈti-lə-rē 
-ˈtil-rē
plural artilleries
1
: weapons (such as bows, slings, and catapults) for discharging missiles
2
a
: large bore mounted firearms (such as guns, howitzers, and rockets) : ordnance
especially
: such ordnance that is capable of long-range indirect fire at a target too distant to be seen
b
: a branch of an army armed with artillery
3
: a means of impressing, arguing, persuading, or competing
… indicated that the Bureau had not rolled out its heavy artillery for a full-scale investigation.—
Herbert Mitgang
Herbert Mitgang
Examples of artillery in a Sentence
The troops were being bombarded by artillery.
a captain in the artillery
Recent Examples on the Web
Ukraine is particularly desperate for artillery shells, essential to pound the enemy and constrain its movements.
—Constant Méheut, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2024
The ground war in eastern Ukraine is largely an artillery war, and Russia has a huge advantage.
—Greg Myre, NPR, 24 Apr. 2024
The package includes air defense capabilities, artillery rounds, armored vehicles and other weapons to shore up Ukrainian forces who have seen morale sink as Russian President Vladimir Putin has racked up win after win.
—Aamer Madhani, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2024
Today, 45,000 women are serving in Ukrainian law enforcement, and around 5,500 are in combat roles as snipers, artillery specialists, or assault forces.
—Nataliya Gumenyuk, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2024
Shelling and artillery strikes have repeatedly hit close to the plant, at times cutting the electric lines maintaining its cooling operations.
—Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
The president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, told reporters last week that his country had now identified one million rounds of 155-caliber artillery shells — 200,000 more than previously estimated — and that 15 nations had joined the campaign to finance their purchase.
—Marc Santora, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Our fact-check sources: The Times of Israel, April 29, 2022, Panic at the airport as US family tries to board plane with souvenir artillery shell
Flash 90, April 14, 2022, BEN GURION INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Thank you for supporting our journalism.
—Brieanna J. Frank, USA TODAY, 15 Apr. 2024
While these two political lightweights dither, people are dying, as Ukrainian soldiers run out of artillery shells and Russia bombs civilian homes and infrastructure in large Ukrainian cities that lack air defenses.
—Trudy Rubin, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2024
Constant Méheut, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2024
The ground war in eastern Ukraine is largely an artillery war, and Russia has a huge advantage.
—Greg Myre, NPR, 24 Apr. 2024
The package includes air defense capabilities, artillery rounds, armored vehicles and other weapons to shore up Ukrainian forces who have seen morale sink as Russian President Vladimir Putin has racked up win after win.
—Aamer Madhani, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2024
Today, 45,000 women are serving in Ukrainian law enforcement, and around 5,500 are in combat roles as snipers, artillery specialists, or assault forces.
—Nataliya Gumenyuk, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2024
Shelling and artillery strikes have repeatedly hit close to the plant, at times cutting the electric lines maintaining its cooling operations.
—Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
The president of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, told reporters last week that his country had now identified one million rounds of 155-caliber artillery shells — 200,000 more than previously estimated — and that 15 nations had joined the campaign to finance their purchase.
—Marc Santora, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Our fact-check sources: The Times of Israel, April 29, 2022, Panic at the airport as US family tries to board plane with souvenir artillery shell
Flash 90, April 14, 2022, BEN GURION INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Thank you for supporting our journalism.
—Brieanna J. Frank, USA TODAY, 15 Apr. 2024
While these two political lightweights dither, people are dying, as Ukrainian soldiers run out of artillery shells and Russia bombs civilian homes and infrastructure in large Ukrainian cities that lack air defenses.
—Trudy Rubin, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'artillery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near artillery
Cite this Entry
“Artillery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artillery. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
artillery
noun
ar·til·lery
är-ˈtil-(ə-)rē
plural artilleries
1
: large firearms (as cannon or rockets)
2
: a branch of an army armed with artillery
artilleryman
noun
-mən
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