arsenal

noun

ar·​se·​nal ˈärs-nəl How to pronounce arsenal (audio)
ˈär-sə-
1
a
: an establishment for the manufacture or storage of arms and military equipment
The city is home to a federal arsenal.
b
: a collection of weapons
2
: store, repertoire
the team's arsenal of veteran players

Examples of arsenal in a Sentence

The city is home to a federal arsenal. Doctors have a broad arsenal of medicines to choose from. the team's arsenal of veteran players
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As Hollywood prepares to unleash its summer arsenal of would-be blockbusters, Kinepolis Group and Imax Corporation are betting big on premium theatrical experiences with a multi-territory expansion announced Monday at CinemaCon. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 31 Mar. 2025 As this recipe was passed down to her from her father, she's got an arsenal of advice for cooking it to perfection. Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Mar. 2025 In another instance, in 2023, an individual who threatened to kill his girlfriend was found to be manufacturing an arsenal of weapons in his apartment using a Creality printer. Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2025 In fact, getting outside the box and throwing non-traditional lures can help secret weapons materialize in your arsenal. Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for arsenal

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "dockyard for the construction and repair of naval vessels," borrowed from Middle French archenal, arsenail, arsenal (in reference to the naval dockyard of Venice), borrowed (with conformation of the final to -al -al entry 2) from Upper Italian (Venice) arzanà, presumably alteration (by metanalysis, with the initial taken as the preposition d', di "from") of darsenà (attested in Genoese, earlier in Medieval Latin as darsena, darsana), borrowed from Arabic dār al-ṣināʽa "place of manufacture," from dār "house" + al "the" (assimilated to aṣ) + ṣināʽa "manufacture" (derivative of ṣanaʽa "to make")

Note: Forms with final -ale (as arsenale, arzanale, arzenale) are attested in Italian in the sixteenth century and may be the immediate source of the English word. The French forms with -al may reflect these, though attested about a century earlier. As arzanà the Venetian word is attested in the text of Dante's Inferno ("nell'arzanà de' Viniziani," XXI, 7).

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of arsenal was in 1555

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Cite this Entry

“Arsenal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arsenal. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

arsenal

noun
ar·​se·​nal ˈärs-nəl How to pronounce arsenal (audio)
-ᵊn-əl
1
: a place for the manufacture or storage of arms
2
: a collection of weapons

More from Merriam-Webster on arsenal

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