arsenal

noun

ar·​se·​nal ˈärs-nəl 

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

Synonyms

• armory
• depot
• dump
• magazine

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

Wrapped, folded or tied under the chin; the headscarf is perhaps one of the most diverse — and historic — accessories in fashion’s arsenal. —Leah Dolan, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024

The figures, including an outsized Mama Odie, sporting a colorful abundance of beads, are among the most lifelike in Disney’s arsenal. —Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024

The urge to travel with as few belongings as possible may not speak to everyone, but those that subscribe to a minimalist view of packing will benefit from having a compact underseat carry-on in their arsenal to make their next plane ride a breeze. —Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2024

That's why the Wahl Dry Skin & Itch Relief Pet Shampoo is a must-have in every dog owner's arsenal. —Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024

Israel already owns dozens of F-35s, which are among the most advanced weapons in America’s military arsenal. —Edward Wong, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024

Placing pet food bowls in a shallow tray of water is the most common weapon in the anti-ant arsenal. —Joan Morris, The Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2024

Aside from sports, there’s never been a better time to add a Max subscription to your streaming arsenal. —Anna Tingley, Variety, 18 Mar. 2024

BandLab’s music-making software includes an arsenal of virtual instruments, as well as the ability to automatically generate multipart vocal harmonies, record, sample and manipulate sound in myriad ways. —Lars Brandle, Billboard, 22 Mar. 2024

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

Kids Definition

arsenal

noun

ar·​se·​nal ˈärs-nəl 

-ᵊn-əl

1

: a place for the manufacture or storage of arms

2

: a collection of weapons