WEAPON


Meaning of WEAPON in English

weap ‧ on S3 W2 /ˈwepən/ BrE AmE noun [countable]

[ Language: Old English ; Origin: wæpen ]

1 . something that you use to fight with or attack someone with, such as a knife, bomb, or gun:

They all had sticks which they planned to use as weapons.

2 . an action, piece of information, piece of equipment etc that you can use to win or be successful in doing something:

a new weapon in the fight against AIDS

Right now, she felt the need of every weapon in her armoury (=weapon that she had) , including surprise.

• • •

COLLOCATIONS

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + weapon

▪ nuclear/atomic weapons

The country is thought to be developing nuclear weapons.

▪ conventional weapons (=not nuclear)

With conventional weapons, the destruction is not so drastic.

▪ chemical/biological weapons (=weapons that use chemicals such as poisonous gases, or dangerous germs)

Troops may have been exposed to chemical weapons.

▪ an offensive weapon (=one that can be used to attack someone illegally)

He was charged with carrying an offensive weapon.

▪ a lethal/deadly weapon (=one that can kill)

A knife is a lethal weapon.

▪ the murder weapon (=the weapon used to kill someone)

Police found a knife at the scene that is believed to be the murder weapon.

▪ an automatic weapon (=an automatic gun)

He was shot 120 times with automatic weapons.

■ verbs

▪ carry a weapon

The man is believed to be carrying a weapon.

▪ use a weapon

They claim the government used chemical weapons against them.

▪ fire a weapon (=shoot a gun or missile)

Police were told not to fire their weapons.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.