weapon, arm, weapon system
(noun) any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting; āhe was licensed to carry a weaponā
weapon, artillery
(noun) a means of persuading or arguing; āhe used all his conversational weaponsā
Source: WordNet® 3.1
weapon (plural weapons)
An instrument of attack or defense in combat or hunting, e.g. most guns, missiles, or swords.
An instrument or other means of harming or exerting control over another.
(informal, humorous) A tool of any kind.
(Scotland, Britain, slang, pejorative) An idiot, an oaf, a fool, a tool; a contemptible or incompetent person.
• See also weapon
• assault weapon
• anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW)
• anti-tank weapon
• atomic weapon
• biological weapon
• bioweapon
• chemical weapon
• cold weapon
• conventional weapon
• crew-served weapon
• cyberweapon
• doomsday weapon
• gun
• mass destruction weapon
• murder weapon
• nuclear weapon
• pistol
• radiological weapon
• ranged weapon
• section automatic weapon
• siege weapon
• space weapon
• squad automatic weapon
• superweapon
• sword
• thermonuclear weapon
• weapon of mass destruction (WMD)
• weapon of wholesale destruction
Source: Wiktionary
Weap"on, n. Etym: [OE. wepen, AS. w; akin to OS. w, OFries. w, w, D. wapen, G. waffe, OHG. waffan, wafan, Icel. vapn, Dan. vaaben, Sw. vapen, Goth. w, pl.; of uncertain origin. Cf. Wapentake.]
1. An instrument of offensive of defensive combat; something to fight with; anything used, or designed to be used, in destroying, defeating, or injuring an enemy, as a gun, a sword, etc. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. 2 Cor. x. 4. They, astonished, all resistance lost, All courage; down their idle weapons dropped. Milton.
2. Fig.: The means or instrument with which one contends against another; as, argument was his only weapon. "Woman's weapons, water drops." Shak.
3. (Bot.)
Definition: A thorn, prickle, or sting with which many plants are furnished. Concealed weapons. See under Concealed.
– Weapon salve, a salve which was supposed to cure a wound by being applied to the weapon that made it. [Obs.] Boyle.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
22 February 2025
(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., āthe father of the brideā instead of āthe brideās fatherā
Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be ādancingā after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. Thatās how the first coffee drink was born.
