CORDITE

add. ·noun a smokeless powder composed of nitroglycerin, guncotton, and mineral jelly, and used by the british army and in other services. in making it the ingredients are mixed into a paste with the addition of acetone and pressed out into cords (of various diameters) resembling brown twine, which are dried and cut to length. a variety containing less nitroglycerin than the original is known as cordite m. d.