casualty

American  

[kazh-oo-uhl-tee] / ˈkæʒ u əl ti /

noun

plural

casualties

1. Military.

   1. a member of the armed forces lost to service through death, wounds, sickness, capture, or because their whereabouts or condition cannot be determined.

   2. casualties, loss in numerical strength through any cause, as death, wounds, sickness, capture, or desertion.

2. one who is injured or killed in an accident.

   There were no casualties in the traffic accident.

3. any person, group, thing, etc., that is harmed or destroyed as a result of some act or event.

   Their house was a casualty of the fire.

4. a serious accident, especially one involving bodily injury or death.

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casualty British  

/ ˈkæʒjʊəltɪ /

noun

1. a serviceman who is killed, wounded, captured, or missing as a result of enemy action

2. a person who is injured or killed in an accident

3. a hospital department in which victims of accidents, violence, etc, are treated

4. anything that is lost, damaged, or destroyed as the result of an accident, etc

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Etymology

Origin of casualty

First recorded in 1375–1425; casual + -ty ²; replacing late Middle English casuelte, equivalent to casuel ( casual ) + -te -ty ²

Explanation

In wartime, you'll hear the word casualty used often for someone killed or injured. But casualty can also refer to deaths or injuries suffered in an accident or some other unfortunate event. The term "casualties of war" has been around for a while and refers to the ugly downside of military victory. Anyone who loses life or limb, either in the fighting or as a civilian, is called a casualty. You can also use this word figuratively: if a local elementary school loses funding for their art classes and after-school activities, you can say that the students are casualties of budget cuts.

Example Sentences

That leaves the Islamic Republic with a 100% civilian casualty ratio—a benchmark of the number of civilian casualties relative to combatant ones.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Five years later, that million-square-foot plant is mostly empty and losing money, a casualty of America’s messy breakup with electric vehicles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

It said its lifeguards had saved 2,165 lives since then and helped almost 500,000 people through water rescue, returning lost children and delivering first aid and casualty care.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

"As they say, the first casualty of war is truth," he says.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

Club Envy, the usual Thursday nightspot, was a casualty.

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas

Related Words

• blow
• calamity
• catastrophe
• disaster
• mishap