arms

/ɑrmz/

/ɑmz/

Arms are weapons. If a rebel group starts acquiring arms, it becomes a clear threat to its opponents.

If you hear references on the news to "the arms race" or "arms exports," you know the subject is guns, bombs, bullets, and other weapons and ammunition. Any country with an army has some quantity of arms that can be used for self defense or military actions. In 1300, it was armes, "weapons of a warrior," from the Latin arma, "weapons," and also "tools of war."

Definitions of arms

1. noun

   weapons considered collectively
   synonyms: implements of war, munition, weaponry, weapons system

   types:

   ammo, ammunition

   projectiles to be fired from a gun

   armament

   weaponry used by military or naval force

   bomb

   an explosive device fused to explode under specific conditions

   defence system, defense system

   the weaponry available for the defense of a region

   gunnery

   guns collectively

   hardware

   major items of military weaponry (as tanks or missile)

   naval weaponry

   weaponry for warships

   armory, armoury, arsenal

   all the weapons and equipment that a country has

   artillery, gun, heavy weapon, ordnance

   large but transportable armament

   A-bomb, atom bomb, atomic bomb, fission bomb, plutonium bomb

   a nuclear weapon in which enormous energy is released by nuclear fission (splitting the nuclei of a heavy element like uranium 235 or plutonium 239)

   Fugo, balloon bomb

   a bomb carried by a balloon

   belt, belt ammunition, belted ammunition

   ammunition (usually of small caliber) loaded in flexible linked strips for use in a machine gun

   bomblet, cluster bomblet

   one of the smaller bombs that are released from a cluster bomb

   bombshell

   an explosive bomb or artillery shell

   briefcase bomb

   a bomb consisting of an explosive and timer hidden inside a briefcase

   broadside

   all of the armament that is fired from one side of a warship

   car bomb

   a bomb placed in a car and wired to explode when the ignition is started or by remote control or by a timing device

   cartridge

   ammunition consisting of a cylindrical casing containing an explosive charge and a bullet; fired from a rifle or handgun

   canister, canister shot, case shot

   a metallic cylinder packed with shot and used as ammunition in a firearm

   chemical bomb, gas bomb

   a bomb laden with chemical agents that are released when the bomb explodes

   cluster bomb

   bomb consisting of a canister that is dropped from a plane and that opens to release a cluster of bomblets (usually fragmentation bombs) over a wide area

   cruise missile

   an unmanned aircraft that is a self-contained bomb

   depth bomb, depth charge

   a bomb that explodes at a preset depth under water; antisubmarine device

   dumb bomb, gravity bomb

   a bomb that falls because of gravity and is not guided to a target

   fire control system

   naval weaponry consisting of a system for controlling the delivery of fire on a military target

   anti-personnel bomb, antipersonnel bomb, daisy cutter, fragmentation bomb

   a bomb with only 10 to 20 per cent explosive and the remainder consisting of casings designed to break into many small high-velocity fragments; most effective against troops and vehicles

   gas shell

   (military) bomb consisting of an explosive projectile filled with a toxic gas that is released when the bomb explodes

   GP bomb, general-purpose bomb

   a large bomb (500 to 2,000 pounds that is 50% explosive) whose explosion creates a blast and whose metal casing creates some fragmentation effect

   grenade

   a small explosive bomb thrown by hand or fired from a missile

   H-bomb, fusion bomb, hydrogen bomb, thermonuclear bomb

   a nuclear weapon that releases atomic energy by union of light (hydrogen) nuclei at high temperatures to form helium

   firebomb, incendiary, incendiary bomb

   a bomb that is designed to start fires; is most effective against flammable targets (such as fuel)

   launcher, rocket launcher

   armament in the form of a device capable of launching a rocket

   letter bomb, package bomb, parcel bomb

   a thin explosive device inside an envelope or package and detonated when opened

   megaton bomb

   a nuclear weapon with an explosive power equivalent to one million tons of TNT

   E-bomb, microwave bomb

   a bomb that explodes in midair and releases a massive burst of electromagnetic energy sufficient to disable computers and telecommunications without killing people or damaging buildings

   missile defence system, missile defense system

   naval weaponry providing a defense system

   munition, ordnance, ordnance store

   military supplies

   naval gun

   naval weaponry consisting of a large gun carried on a warship

   naval missile

   naval weaponry consisting of a missile carried on a warship

   penetration bomb

   a bomb with about 30% explosive and a casing designed to penetrate hardened targets before the explosive detonates

   pipe bomb

   a small homemade bomb usually contained in a metal pipe

   plastic bomb

   a bomb made of plastic explosive

   powder and shot

   ammunition consisting of gunpowder and bullets for muskets

   remote-control bomb

   a bomb that can be detonated by remote control

   one shot, round, unit of ammunition

   a charge of ammunition for a single shot

   shell

   ammunition consisting of a cylindrical metal casing containing an explosive charge and a projectile; fired from a large gun

   smart bomb

   a bomb that can be guided (by a laser beam or radio) to its target

   smoke bomb, smoke grenade

   a bomb that gives off thick smoke when it explodes; used to make a smoke screen or to mark a position

   stench bomb, stink bomb

   a small bomb designed to give off a foul odor when it explodes

   aerosol bomb, fuel-air bomb, thermobaric bomb, vacuum bomb, volume-detonation bomb

   a bomb that uses a fuel-air explosive

   infernal machine, time bomb

   a bomb that has a detonating mechanism that can be set to go off at a particular time

   torpedo

   armament consisting of a long cylindrical self-propelled underwater projectile that detonates on contact with a target

   tracer, tracer bullet

   ammunition whose flight can be observed by a trail of smoke

   type of:

   instrumentality, instrumentation

   an artifact (or system of artifacts) that is instrumental in accomplishing some end
2. noun

   the official symbols of a family, state, etc.
   synonyms: blazon, blazonry, coat of arms

   types:

   quartering

   a coat of arms that occupies one quarter of an escutcheon; combining four coats of arms on one shield usually represented intermarriages

   type of:

   heraldry

   emblem indicating the right of a person to bear arms