This page gathers the 2,895 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “War”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 3 of 29: from “bandsman” to “blowback”.
- bandsman noun A player in a musical band, especially a military or brass band.
- Bangalore noun Ellipsis of Bangalore torpedo.
- Bangalore torpedo noun A long pipe filled with explosive, which is pushed forwards along the ground and then detonated to clear a path through wire obstacles and…
- banger noun A Bangalore torpedo.
- banjo verb To shell or attack (a target).
- banneret noun A proposed but unadopted senior commissioned rank of the Royal Air Force equivalent to group captain.
- banquette noun A narrow area behind a defensive wall's parapet elevated above its terreplein and used by defenders to shoot at attackers.
- bantamweight noun A weight class in boxing and other sports, intermediate between flyweight and featherweight. In boxing it ranges from 112 to 118 pounds (51…
- banyan noun A camping excursion on shore, to give a ship's crew a break from shipboard routine.
- banzuke noun the document, published six times a year, before each basho, showing the official rankings of all rikishi
- bap noun The ship prefix for a ship from the navy of Peru
- baptism of fire noun The first experience of a severe ordeal, especially a first experience of military combat
- bar shot noun A double-headed shot, consisting of a bar, with a ball or half ball at each end; formerly used for destroying the masts or rigging in naval…
- bare knuckle adj Without boxing gloves.
- barium meal noun The deliberate release of traceable information to a suspect to see whether they leak it.
- Barney-style adj Oversimplified.
- barrack noun A building for soldiers, especially within a garrison; originally referred to temporary huts, now usually to a permanent structure or set…
- barracks noun A group of buildings used by military personnel as housing.
- barrage noun A heavy curtain of artillery fire directed in front of one's own troops to screen and protect them.
- barrage balloon noun A tethered balloon, attached to the ground with a metal cable, intended to deter low-flying enemy aircraft; used especially in World War II.
- barrel bomb noun A barrel filled with explosives, used as an improvised unguided bomb and dropped from a helicopter or airplane.
- barrelled adj Having a barrel or specified number of barrels.
- bascule noun The portion of a breech-loading firearm that pivots open in order to allow access to the chamber.
- base noun The smallest kind of cannon.
- base cap noun The part of a weapon that is attached to the base end of the barrel or casing and holds a firing pin.
- base communications noun Communications services, such as the installation, operation, maintenance, augmentation, modification, and rehabilitation of communications…
- base hospital noun A fixed or semipermanent medical facility located in the rear of a theater of operations or within a secure zone.
- basha noun A makeshift shelter made from the above.
- basher noun A rainproof sheet for sleeping under.
- basic noun Basic training.
- basic training noun The standard training regimen for introducing new recruits to a military organization's discipline and basic operational skills.
- basilisk noun A type of large brass cannon.
- basket noun A drogue (or para-drogue) in the probe-and-drogue refueling method
- bastille noun The fortified encampment of an army besieging a place; also, any of the buildings in such an encampment.
- batardeau noun A wall built across the ditch of a fortification, with a sluice gate to regulate the height of water in the ditch on both sides of the wall.
- batman noun A servant or valet to a military officer.
- baton noun A ceremonial staff of a field marshal or a similar high-ranking military office.
- battalion noun An army unit having two or more companies, etc. and a headquarters. Traditionally forming part of a regiment.
- battalion tactical group noun A military unit of the armed forces which incorporates multiple branches of the military within a single command structure (also known as…
- battery noun A coordinated group of artillery weapons, with any of various numbers of guns.
- battery acid noun Coffee.
- battle noun A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; a combat, an engagement.
- battle buddy noun Another servicemember assigned to mutually help another under the battle buddy system, and by extension any comrade.
- battle cry noun An exclamation troops yell out when going to war or battle.
- battle honours noun The names of battles and actions in which a warship (or a previous namesake) has taken part, usually displayed on a board in a prominent…
- battle line noun The notional line on either side of which opposing forces are arrayed, and at which they meet in battle; a fortified line, short of the…
- battle map noun A map showing the location of a battle and the things needed to oversee the course of the battle, including positions of troops, armaments…
- battle station noun The position taken by a member of a military force when preparing for battle.
- battlecarrier noun A hybrid between a battleship and an aircraft carrier, with both one or more heavy gun turrets and a large aircraft hangar and flight deck.
- battlecruiser noun A fast warship with thicker armor and heavier guns than a typical cruiser, but with armor, armament, or both still inferior to that of a…
- battleship noun A large capital warship displacing thousands to tens of thousands of tons, heavily armoured and armed with large-caliber guns; now…
- battlespace noun The conditions and dimensions of battle, including terrain, weather, infrastructure, airspace, seaspace, cyberspace, near space, and outer…
- battlewagon noun A heavily armed combat vehicle; a tank.
- bayman noun A sickbay nurse.
- bayonet noun A blade mounted to the end of a long gun, originally with a handle inserted into the bore, now usually attached underbarrel.
- bazooka noun A shoulder-held rocket launcher used as an antitank weapon, developed by America during World War II and so-called from its resemblance to…
- BB noun Abbreviation of battleship.
- beachhead noun An area of hostile territory (especially on a beach) that, when captured, serves for the continuous landing (or movement into position) of…
- beachmaster noun An officer who supervises soldiers' disembarkation.
- bear verb Of a weapon, to be aimed at an enemy or other target.
- bear hug noun A hold with the arms around the opponent.
- beast verb To impose arduous exercise upon, either as training or as punishment.
- beat verb To make a succession of strokes on a drum.
- beat up noun A raid.
- beatdown noun A prescribed situation, usually to advance an angle or establish character, where two or more wrestlers severely beat up another wrestler…
- beep noun A 1/2-ton general purpose military light truck
- behind the curve prep_phrase Not making the progress required.
- Belgian Gate noun A heavy steel fence, typically mounted on concrete rollers, used as a mobile antitank obstacle during World War II.
- below the belt prep_phrase Of a punch, landing illegally, below the opponent's waist.
- belt noun A band of armor along the sides of a warship, protecting the ship's vital spaces.
- belt-fed adj Supplied with ammunition by means of a belt.
- beset verb Of soldiers, etc.: to surround (a place) to compel surrender; to besiege.
- big gun noun A large artillery gun or one of the largest-caliber naval guns (as on a battleship).
- billhook noun A medieval polearm, fitted to a long handle, sometimes with an L-shaped tine or a spike protruding from the side or the end of the blade…
- bingo adj Just sufficient to return to base (or, alternatively, to divert to an alternative airfield). (also written Bingo or BINGO)
- biologicals noun biological weapons
- bird colonel noun A member of the United States armed forces having the rank of full colonel, as distinct from a lieutenant colonel.
- bird dog verb A multiservice tactical brevity code requesting configuration of sensors.
- birth control glasses noun The brown-framed prescription eyeglasses issued to new recruits in the U.S. military, or similar glasses issued to inmates at certain state…
- black belt noun The highest belt colour in various martial arts.
- black card noun The most severe of penalties, which results in the fencer being expelled from the match.
- blackjack noun A small, flat, blunt, usually leather-covered weapon loaded with heavy material such as lead or ball bearings, intended to inflict a blow…
- blade verb To cut a person (usually oneself) so as to provoke bleeding.
- bladed stance noun A stance in which one foot is in front of the other and the body is at an angle to a person in front (who may become aggressive)
- blading verb The act of cutting oneself open, usually on the forehead, to draw blood and make the fight more spectacular.
- blank adj Of ammunition: having propellant but no bullets; unbulleted.
- blast pen noun A specially constructed E-shaped double bay to protect aircraft against bomb blasts and splinters during enemy attacks.
- blasting cap noun A small, metal tube or shell containing a detonating charge and is used to initiate the detonation of other explosives.
- blaze away verb To fire (firearms) repeatedly.
- bleed the monkey verb Synonym of suck the monkey (“to surreptitiously drink alcohol from a cask through an inserted tube”).
- Blighty one noun A wound that is relatively minor, but sufficiently severe that one will be sent to the hospital in England.
- blind noun A blindage.
- blindage noun A cover or protection for an advanced trench or approach, formed of fascines and earth supported by a framework.
- blivet noun A portable, collapsible container for liquid fuel.
- bloke noun (A lower deck term for) the captain or executive officer of a warship, especially one regarded as tough on discipline and punishment.
- blooper noun The Vietnam-era M79 grenade launcher (due to its distinctive report).
- blouse verb To tuck one's pants/trousers (into one's boots).
- blow verb To blow from a gun (method of executing a person).
- blow forward noun A firearm action where the propellant gas pressure and the friction of the bullet traveling down the bore drag the whole gun barrel forward…
- blowback noun A type of action where the pressure from the fired cartridge blows a sliding mechanism backward to extract the fired cartridge, chamber…