casualty

[ kazh-oo-uhl-tee ]

noun

, plural cas·u·al·ties.

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.

casualty

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of casualty¹

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

Related Words

• blow
• calamity
• catastrophe
• disaster
• mishap