CHEMICAL WEAPON

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does chemical weapon mean? 

• CHEMICAL WEAPON (noun)
  The noun CHEMICAL WEAPON has 1 sense:

1. chemical substances that can be delivered using munitions and dispersal devices to cause death or severe harm to people and animals and plants

  Familiarity information: CHEMICAL WEAPON used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CHEMICAL WEAPON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Chemical substances that can be delivered using munitions and dispersal devices to cause death or severe harm to people and animals and plants

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("chemical weapon" is a kind of...):

W.M.D.; weapon of mass destruction; WMD (a weapon that kills or injures civilian as well as military personnel (nuclear and chemical and biological weapons))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chemical weapon"):

chemical bomb; gas bomb (a bomb laden with chemical agents that are released when the bomb explodes)

pepper spray (a nonlethal aerosol spray made with the pepper derivative oleoresin capiscum; used to cause temporary blindness and incapacitate an attacker; also used as a bear deterrent)

poison gas (a gas that is poisonous to breath or contact; used in chemical warfare)

lachrymator; lacrimator; tear gas; teargas (a gas that makes the eyes fill with tears but does not damage them; used in dispersing crowds)

 Context examples 

They could also be planned, as in the case of a terrorist attack with a chemical weapon.

(Chemical Emergencies, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)