ordnance

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: ord=nance

CIDE DICTIONARY

ordnance, n. [From OE. ordenance, referring orig. to the bore or size of the cannon. See Ordinance.].

 Heavy weapons of warfare; cannon, or great guns, mortars, and howitzers; artillery; sometimes, a general term for all weapons, ammunitiion, and appliances used in war.  [1913 Webster]
"All the battlements their ordnance fire."  [1913 Webster]
"Then you may hear afar off the awful roar of his [Rufus Choate's] rifled ordnance."  [1913 Webster]

Ordnance survey, the official survey of Great Britain and Ireland, conducted by the ordnance department.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

ordnance, n.
1 mounted guns; cannon.
2 a branch of government service dealing esp. with military stores and materials.

Idiom

ordnance datum Brit. mean sea level as defined for Ordnance Survey. Ordnance map Brit. a map produced by Ordnance Survey. Ordnance Survey Brit. (in the UK) an official survey organization, orig. under the Master of the Ordnance, preparing large-scale detailed maps of the whole country.

Etymology

ME var. of ORDINANCE

THESAURUS

ordnance

A-weapons, armament, arms, artillery, battery, biological weapons, cannon, cannonry, coast artillery, conventional weapons, deadly weapons, field artillery, flak, heavy field artillery, instruments of destruction, missilery, munitions, musketry, nuclear weapons, side arms, siege artillery, siege engine, small arms, thermonuclear weapons, trench artillery, weaponry, weapons

ROGET THESAURUS

ordnance

Arms

N arm, arms, weapon, deadly weapon, armament, armaments, armature, panoply, stand of arms, armor, armory, apparatus belli, ammunition, powder, powder and shot, cartridge, ball cartridge, cartouche, fireball, villainous saltpeter, dumdum bullet, explosive, gunpowder, guncotton, mercury fulminate, picrates, pentaerythritol tetranitrate, PETN, high explosive, trinitrotoluene, TNT, dynamite, melinite, cordite, lyddite, plastic explosive, plastique, pyroxyline, sword, saber, broadsword, cutlass, falchion, scimitar, cimeter, brand, whinyard, bilbo, glaive, glave, rapier, skean, Toledo, Ferrara, tuck, claymore, adaga, baselard, Lochaber ax, skean dhu, creese, kris, dagger, dirk, banger, poniard, stiletto, stylet, dudgeon, bayonet, sword-bayonet, sword-stick, side arms, foil, blade, steel, ax, bill, pole-ax, battle-ax, gisarme, halberd, partisan, tomahawk, bowie knife, ataghan, attaghan, yataghan, yatacban, assagai, assegai, good sword, trusty sword, naked sword, cold steel, club, mace, truncheon, staff, bludgeon, cudgel, life preserver, shillelah, sprig, hand staff, quarter staff, bat, cane, stick, knuckle duster, billy, blackjack, sandbag, waddy, gun, piece, firearms, artillery, ordnance, siege train, battering train, park, battery, cannon, gun of position, heavy gun, field piece, mortar, howitzer, carronade, culverin, basilisk, falconet, jingal, swivel, pederero, bouche a feu, petard, torpedo, mitrailleur, mitrailleuse, infernal machine, smooth bore, rifled cannon, Armstrong gun, Lancaster gun, Paixhan gun, Whitworth gun, Parrott gun, Krupp gun, Gatling gun, Maxim gun, machine gun, pompom, ten pounder, small arms, musket, musketry, firelock, fowling piece, rifle, fusil, caliver, carbine, blunderbuss, musketoon, Brown Bess, matchlock, harquebuss, arquebus, haguebut, pistol, postolet, petronel, small bore, breach-loader, muzzle-loader, revolver, repeater, Minis rifle, Enfield rifle, Flobert rifle, Westley Richards rifle, Snider rifle, Martini-Henry rifle, Lee-Metford rifle, Lee-Enfield rifle, Mauser rifle, magazine rifle, needle gun, chassepot, wind gun, air gun, automatic gun, automatic pistol, escopet, escopette, gunflint, gun- lock, hackbut, shooter, shooting iron, six-shooter, shotgun, Uzzi, assault rifle, Kalashnikov, bow, crossbow, balister, catapult, sling, battering ram, gunnery, ballistics, missile, bolt, projectile, shot, ball, grape, grape shot, canister shot, bar shot, cannon shot, langrel shot, langrage shot, round shot, chain shot, balista, ballista, slung shot, trebucbet, trebucket, bullet, slug, stone, brickbat, grenade, shell, bomb, carcass, rocket, congreve, congreve rocket, shrapnel, mitraille, levin bolt, levin brand, thunderbolt, pike, lance, spear, spontoon, javelin, dart, jereed, jerid, arrow, reed, shaft, bolt, boomerang, harpoon, gaff, eelspear, oxgoad, weet-weet, wommerah, cattle prod, chemical mace, en flute, nervos belli pecuniam infinitam.