Mills bomb

/ mɪlz /

noun

1. a type of high-explosive hand grenade

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mills bomb¹

C20: named after Sir William Mills (1856–1932), English inventor

Example Sentences

An Army technical officer went to the scene and later confirmed it was a live "Mills bomb" hand grenade.

From BBC

An Army technical officer went to the scene and confirmed it was a live WW1 "Mills Bomb" hand grenade.

From BBC

The Mills bomb grenade was first developed during World War One in 1915, and became the first hand grenade to be issued on a large scale in Britain.

From BBC

Among the five live ordnance items found were a British “Mills Bomb” grenade from World War II, a Navy 37-millimeter steel artillery shell from World War I and a post-WWII 20-millimeter shell for an Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun, officials said.

From Washington Times

The bomb they used was the Mills bomb which had been adopted for general use in the British army.

From Project Gutenberg