casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
ˈka-zhəl-tē 
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 casualty—
J. S. Seidman
J. S. Seidman
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
There were no reports of casualties or significant damage, officials said.
—Kevin Shalvey, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2024
The city's blockade resulted in thousands of deaths, with the total number of casualties yet to be fully tallied.
—Katya Soldak, Forbes, 19 Nov. 2024
For example, after the 2016 presidential election, the political scientist Douglas Kriner and the psychologist Francis Shen showed that voters in states with higher rates of recent battlefield casualties had been more likely to choose Trump.
—Dan Caldwell, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2024
Russia has used warships from its Black Sea Fleet, as well as strategic bombers, to conduct missile strikes on targets across Ukraine, leading to hundreds of civilian casualties.
—Artem Grudinin, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for casualty 
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show current usage.
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Kevin Shalvey, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2024
The city's blockade resulted in thousands of deaths, with the total number of casualties yet to be fully tallied.
—Katya Soldak, Forbes, 19 Nov. 2024
For example, after the 2016 presidential election, the political scientist Douglas Kriner and the psychologist Francis Shen showed that voters in states with higher rates of recent battlefield casualties had been more likely to choose Trump.
—Dan Caldwell, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2024
Russia has used warships from its Black Sea Fleet, as well as strategic bombers, to conduct missile strikes on targets across Ukraine, leading to hundreds of civilian casualties.
—Artem Grudinin, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for casualty
Dictionary Entries Near casualty
Cite this Entry
“Casualty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/casualty. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
ˈkazh-əl-tē
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-
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-
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
Internal Revenue Code 2
: something lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed see also casualty gain at gain, casualty loss at loss
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