Word.ws English Dictionary

ordnance

/ˈɔːdnəns//ˈoɹdnəns/

ordnance noun: military equipment, especially weapons and ammunition.

ordnance: military equipment, especially weapons and ammunition
Image: Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

ordnance (countable and uncountable, plural ordnances)

  1. (collective) Military equipment, especially weapons and ammunition.
    • When the Turkes tooke Conſtantinople, they melted the Bells into Ordnance; I haue heard both Bells and Ordnance, but neuer been ſo much affected with thoſe, as with theſe Bells.1624, John Donne, chapter XVI, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, →OCLC, page 389
    • What Mr. Vance’s trip made clear is that both sides think they emerged as the victor of the first round: the United States by dropping so much ordnance on Iran, the Iranians by surviving. Neither seems in the mood for compromise.2026 April 12, Tyler Pager, David E. Sanger, “What Now? Vance Leaves Iran Talks Without a Deal.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
  2. Artillery.
    • Let all the Battlements their Ordinance fire, / The King shal drinke to Hamlets better breath,c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
    • From the belfries far and near the funereal deathbell tolled unceasingly while all around the gloomy precincts rolled the ominous warning of a hundred muffled drums punctuated by the hollow booming of pieces of ordnance.1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], pages 293–294

ordnance meaning in Tamil, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali

ordnance in Tamil

படைக்கருவிகள், படைத் தளவாடங்கள், போர்த் தளவாடங்கள்

ordnance in Marathi

ऑर्डनन्स

ordnance in Urdu

آلات, توپ

ordnance in Bengali

সামরিক সরঞ্জাম, গোলাবারুদ
More languagesFewer languages
ordnance in Malayalam
പീരങ്കി, വലിയ തോക്ക്, വെടിക്കോപ്പുകൾ
ordnance in Kannada
ಕಯ್ದು
ordnance in Punjabi
ਆਰਡਨੈਂਸ, ਆਰਡਨੈੱਸ
ordnance in Gujarati
ઓર્ડનન્સ, ઓર્ડનેન્સ
ordnance in Odia
ଅର୍ଡନାନ୍ସ, ଅର୍ଡନେନ୍ସ୍
ordnance in Nepali
अर्डन्यान्स, अर्डनेस, अर्डनेन्स

Forms of ordnance

pluralordnances
alternative formordinance
alternative formordenance

Plural of ordnance: ordnances

Origin of ordnance

A reduced form of ordinance, which is attested from the late 14th century in the sense of “military equipment or provisions”. The sense of “artillery” arises in the early 15th century, the sense “military logistics” in the late 15th century. The shortened form ordnance arises by the 17th century, now often distinguished in writing from the other meanings of ordinance. Also doublet of ordonnance.

Words formed from ordnance

Phrases with ordnance

Questions about ordnance

What does ordnance mean?
Ordnance means military equipment, especially weapons and ammunition.
What is ordnance in Tamil?
Ordnance in Tamil is படைக்கருவிகள், படைத் தளவாடங்கள், போர்த் தளவாடங்கள். See Ordnance meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is ordnance?
Ordnance is a noun.
How do you pronounce ordnance?
Ordnance is pronounced /ˈɔːdnəns/ (UK).
What is the plural of ordnance?
The plural of ordnance is ordnances.

Words near ordnance in the dictionary

  1. Ordish
  2. Ordishes
  3. Ordiway
  4. Ordiways
  5. ORDLO
  6. ordnance
  7. Ordnance Survey
  8. Ordnance Survey map
  9. Ordnance Survey maps
  10. ordnanceman
  11. ordnancemen

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ordnance (page history and authors); ordnance (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ordnance (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ordnance (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ordnance (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ordnance (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ordnance (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ordnance (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ordnance (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ordnance (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ordnance (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “ordnance.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ordnance. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.