arsenal

American  

[ahr-suh-nl, ahrs-nuhl] / ˈɑr sə nl, ˈɑrs nəl /

noun

1. a place of storage or a magazine containing arms and military equipment for land or naval service.

2. a government establishment where military equipment or munitions are manufactured.

3. a collection or supply of weapons or munitions.

4. a collection or supply of anything; store.

   He came to the meeting with an impressive arsenal of new research data.

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arsenal British  

/ ˈɑːsənəl /

noun

1. a store for arms, ammunition, and other military items

2. a workshop or factory that produces munitions

3. a store of anything regarded as weapons

   an arsenal of destructive arguments

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Etymology

Origin of arsenal

1500–10; (< Middle French ) < Italian arzanale < Upper Italian ( Venetian ) arzanà dockyard < Arabic dār ṣināʿah workshop (literally, house of handwork); initial d probably taken as a form of the preposition di from

Example Sentences

The U.S. has sent Iran a 15-point ceasefire proposal that reportedly included provisions like ending uranium enrichment, placing limits on its missile arsenal, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

From Slate • Mar. 26, 2026

A grinning chess grandmaster with an arsenal of deadly tricks.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Dimona hosts a facility widely believed to possess the Middle East's sole nuclear arsenal, although Israel has never confirmed possessing nuclear weapons.

From Barron's • Mar. 22, 2026

The competition between air-defense systems and Iran’s arsenal of drones and missiles is at the center of the war.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Lilienthal had been brooding all day over a pending decision by President Truman about expanding the nation’s nuclear arsenal, a $319 million proposition pushed assiduously by the Pentagon.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik