Definition of "shrapnel" [shrap•nel]

• Fragments from an exploded artillery shell, mine, or bomb. (noun)
• A 19th-century artillery shell containing metal balls, designed to explode in the air above enemy troops. (noun)
• The metal balls in such a weapon. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Letson used tweezers to remove the tiny fragment, which he identified as shrapnel like that from an M-79 not from a rifle bullet, and put a small bandage on Kerry's arm."
• "But his injuries, which she described as shrapnel damage to the head, hand and foot, were more serious than he realized."
• "Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, McCauley had told his family about his special-operations ground raids in Afghanistan and of being struck by shrapnel from a "frag grenade" while in a ground conflict."