grenade

noun

gre·​nade grə-ˈnād 

: a small missile that contains an explosive or a chemical agent (such as tear gas, a flame producer, or a smoke producer) and that is thrown by hand or projected (as by a rifle or special launcher)

Examples of grenade in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There's nothing wrong with the manager throwing a hand grenade into his own dressing room just to upset a few and keep people on their toes. —Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

Donald Trump just wants to throw a grenade in everything and create more chaos and more suffering across the globe. —NBC News, 20 Oct. 2024

Martin heard the sound of a flash-bang grenade exploding, mixed with pounding and shouting. —Dylan Moore, National Review, 10 Oct. 2024

These are people who woke up one Saturday morning and were soon dodging bullets and grenades, cradling the dead bodies of their husbands and daughters, kneeling before AK-47s and begging to be spared. —Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, literally, pomegranate, from Late Latin granata, from Latin, feminine of granatus seedy, from granum grain — more at corn

First Known Use

1591, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing grenade

• concussion grenade
• flash-bang grenade
• flash grenade
• fragmentation grenade
• smoke grenade
• stun grenade

Kids Definition

grenade

noun

gre·​nade grə-ˈnād 

: a small bomb that is thrown by hand or launched (as by a rifle)

Etymology

from early French grenade, granade "pomegranate, grenade," from Latin granata "pomegranate," derived from Latin granatus "seedy," from granum "grain, seed" — related to garnet, grain, pomegranate see Word History at garnet