casualty

noun

ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈka-zhəl-tē How to pronounce casualty (audio)
ˈkazh-wəl-,
ˈka-zhə-wəl-
plural casualties
1
a
: a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action
The army sustained heavy casualties.
b
: a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed : victim
the ex-senator was a casualty of the last election
2
: serious or fatal accident : disaster
losses from fire, storm, or other casualtyJ. S. Seidman
3
archaic : chance, fortune
losses that befall them by mere casualtySir Walter Raleigh

Examples of casualty in a Sentence

a low number of casualties the real casualties in the war against drugs are millions of innocent children
Recent Examples on the Web The military doesn’t publicize casualty figures, but US estimates suggest more than 300,000 Russians have been killed or injured. Matthew Chance, CNN, 24 Mar. 2024 Each side lost tens of thousands of fighters — several times the casualties suffered by the United States and Britain in the American Revolution. Matthew Brown, Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2024 News agencies attributed the casualty figures to the F.S.B. security agency. Anton Troianovski Valerie Hopkins Anton Troianovski Julian E. Barnes Julian E. Barnes Paul Sonne Valerie Hopkins Anton Troianovski Ivan Nechepurenko Alina Lobzina Constant Méheut Yonette Joseph Yonette Joseph Anton Troianovski Alina Lobzina Neil MacFarquhar Ivan Nechepurenko Ivan Nechepurenko Anton Troianovski, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024 About 32,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis have been killed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, marking a casualty ratio of roughly 26 to 1, according to officials from both governments. Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2024 And if that happens, Israel’s other civil war may claim its first casualty: Netanyahu’s political career. Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024 And that was the last Hollywood had heard of Carano — yet another cautionary casualty of the culture wars. Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024 Logan County Emergency Services is reporting a possible mass casualty event with tornado damage reported across the county. Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 14 Mar. 2024 And now Fisker, already in dire straits, might become one of the first big casualties of the slowdown. Melvin Backman, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'casualty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see casual entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of casualty was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near casualty

Cite this Entry

“Casualty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/casualty. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

casualty

noun
ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈkazh-əl-tē How to pronounce casualty (audio)
ˈkazh-(ə-)wəl-
plural casualties
1
: a serious or fatal accident : disaster
2
a
: a military person lost (as by death or capture) during warfare
b
: a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed

Medical Definition

casualty

noun
ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈkazh-əl-tē, ˈkazh-(ə-)wəl- How to pronounce casualty (audio)
plural casualties
1
: a serious or fatal accident
2
: a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action
3
a
: injury or death from accident
b
: one injured or killed (as by accident)

Legal Definition

casualty

noun
ca·​su·​al·​ty ˈka-zhəl-tē, ˈka-zhə-wəl- How to pronounce casualty (audio)
plural casualties
1
: an unfortunate occurrence
especially : a serious and often disastrous accident
conversion of property…arising from fire, storm, shipwreck, or other casualty Internal Revenue Code
2
: something lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed see also casualty gain at gain, casualty loss at loss

More from Merriam-Webster on casualty

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