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grenade

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A small explosive device, designed to be thrown by hand or launched using a rifle, grenade launcher.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

gruhnayd

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɡɹəˈneɪd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A small explosive device, designed to be thrown by hand or launched using a rifle, grenade launcher, or rocket.

  2. A small explosive bomb thrown by hand or fired from a missile

  3. slang

    An unattractive girl.

verb

  1. motor racingslangintransitive

    Of an engine: to be violently wrecked so that the internal components burst out.

  2. To use grenade(s) upon.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A small explosive device, designed to be thrown by hand or launched using a rifle, grenade launcher, or rocket.

Used this way, grenade is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Mild
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Small

hand grenadegrenade launcherrifle grenadegrenade attack

Other combinations

smoke grenadefragmentation grenadestun grenadegrenade exploded

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • grenade throwernounCompound term

    An infantryman equipped with grenades.

  • hand grenadenounCompound term

    A grenade designed to be thrown by hand.

  • rifle grenadenounCompound term

    A grenade that is thrown from a launching device attached to the barrel of a rifle.

  • smoke grenadenounCompound term

    A bomb that gives off thick smoke when it explodes.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.