cannon fodder

noun

: soldiers regarded or treated as expendable in battle

: an expendable or exploitable person, group, or thing

celebrities who have become cannon fodder for the tabloids

Examples of cannon fodder in a Sentence

The poorly trained forces are little more than cannon fodder.

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

When wading into a sea of enemies, players must constantly swing their chainsaw sword to stay alive because eliminating the cannon fodder recovers health. —

Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2024 Several returned Nepali fighters who spoke with CNN earlier this year blamed Russia for using them as cannon fodder in the war. —

Helen Regan, CNN, 10 July 2024 Thousands of kids without your resources were sent to Vietnam in your stead to die as cannon fodder or return to America, disillusioned and beaten down by combat, only to be scorned by the nice, safe college kids. —

Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 12 May 2024 Every other normie, mostly underdeveloped in the edits, proved to be little more than cannon fodder. —

Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cannon fodder

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of cannon fodder was in 1847

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Cannon fodder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cannon%20fodder. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

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