ammunition

ammunition — noun

1. the bullets, shells, rockets, and similar items that soldiers or hunters load in

1.nounC1
Definition

the bullets, shells, rockets, and similar items that soldiers or hunters load into a gun or other weapon to fire at a target.

Example

The soldiers ran out of ammunition after three hours of fighting near the bridge.

collocation: run out of ammunition

Officer Reyes locked the spare ammunition in a metal cabinet behind her desk.

Common collocations
  • live ammunition
  • spent ammunition
  • run out of ammunition
  • rounds of ammunition
  • supply of ammunition
Synonyms
  • munitions

    more formal; covers weapons plus ammunition together

  • rounds

    countable; refers to individual bullets or shells

  • ordnance

    technical military term covering heavy weapons and shells

Grammar Patterns

a supply of ammunition

run out of ammunition

Usage Note

Uncountable: do not say 'an ammunition' or 'two ammunitions'. Common quantifiers are 'rounds of', 'a supply of', or 'a box of'.

Common Mistakes

I bought two ammunitions for my rifle.
I bought two boxes of ammunition for my rifle.
ammunition is uncountable; use a quantifier.
The soldier loaded an ammunition into the gun.
The soldier loaded a round of ammunition into the gun.
use 'a round of' for one bullet.

2. facts, examples, or other material that someone uses in a debate or argument to

2.nounC1
Definition

facts, examples, or other material that someone uses in a debate or argument to support their own view or weaken an opponent's.

Example

Greta's leaked email gave her critics fresh ammunition during the city council meeting.

pattern: give [someone] ammunition

The rising sales figures provided ammunition for the manager's pay rise request.

pattern: ammunition for + noun

Common collocations
  • ammunition for an argument
  • give somebody ammunition
  • use as ammunition
  • fresh ammunition
  • ammunition against
Synonyms
  • evidence

    neutral; ammunition implies attacking or defending a position

  • leverage

    stronger; suggests power to force a result, not just to argue

  • fuel

    informal; emphasises starting or feeding an argument

Grammar Patterns

ammunition for [argument/critic]

give somebody ammunition

Usage Note

Figurative use, almost always with a possessive or 'for/against' phrase showing whose side benefits. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense never refers to physical objects.

Common Mistakes

The new data is an ammunition for our team.
The new data is ammunition for our team.
uncountable, no article 'an'.

Word family

  • munitions
    nounC2
  • arm
    verbB2
  • armed
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name things used in armed combat, but they cover different scopes. 'Ammunition' is the everyday word for the bullets, shells, or grenades fed into a weapon, and it is uncountable. 'Munitions' is broader and more formal: it includes the weapons themselves plus their ammunition, and often appears in news reports about arms factories or shipments. 'Rounds' is countable and very specific — one round means one bullet or shell, so a soldier might say, 'I have twenty rounds left.' 'Ordnance' is the technical military term, used for heavier items like artillery shells, mortars, and bombs, and is common in phrases such as 'unexploded ordnance'. So a soldier carries ammunition, a factory ships munitions, a magazine holds rounds, and bomb-disposal teams clear ordnance.

ammunition ↗munitionsroundsordnance

Common collocations

Nouns

  • ammunition supply
  • ammunition box
  • ammunition depot

Phrases

  • run out of ammunition
  • live ammunition
  • spent ammunition
  • give somebody ammunition
  • use as ammunition

Prepositions

  • ammunition for
  • ammunition against

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From late 16th-century French 'la munition' ('the supply of war materials'), which English speakers misheard as 'l'ammunition' and re-divided the word. The French root traces back to Latin 'munitio', meaning 'a defence' or 'fortification', from 'munire' ('to fortify'). The figurative sense — material used to attack someone in a debate — grew naturally in the 19th century from the image of throwing weapons at an opponent.