smokeless powder

noun

1. any of various substitutes for ordinary gunpowder that give off little or no smoke, especially one composed wholly or mostly of guncotton.

smokeless powder

noun

1. any one of a number of explosives that burn with relatively little smoke. They consist mainly of nitrocellulose and are used as propellants

Word History and Origins

Origin of smokeless powder¹

First recorded in 1885–90