casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
| \ ˈka-zhəl-tē
, ˈkazh-wəl-, ˈka-zhə-wəl-\
, ˈkazh-wəl-, ˈka-zhə-wəl-\
plural casualties
Definition of casualty
1a
: a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action
The army sustained heavy casualties.
b
: a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed : victim
the ex-senator was a casualty of the last election
2
: serious or fatal accident : disaster
losses from fire, storm, or other casualty— J. S. Seidman
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Examples of casualty in a Sentence
a low number of casualties
the real casualties in the war against drugs are millions of innocent children
Recent Examples on the Web
Interior Ministry spokesman Nusrat Rahimi confirmed the casualty toll as families began to bury the dead. — Rahim Faiez, BostonGlobe.com, "Islamic State claims bombing at Afghan wedding that killed 63," 18 Aug. 2019 Officials on Tuesday updated the casualty list to 17 wounded by gunfire. — Sarah Brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Coroner will release preliminary autopsy information from Dayton shooting investigation," 13 Aug. 2019 Both sides routinely inflate enemy casualty reports. — New York Times, "As U.S. Nears a Pullout Deal, Afghan Army Is on the Defensive," 12 Aug. 2019 Parents and other voters have given their blessing, agreeing to spend millions on more secure entrances, camera systems, alarms, even special triage kits to be placed throughout school buildings in case of a mass casualty incident. — John Wisely, Detroit Free Press, "School security cameras add facial recognition software," 12 Aug. 2019 Since its creation in 2005, the team has sent specialists to 28 mass casualty events, the FBI says. — NBC News, "After mass shootings, this little-known FBI unit focuses on helping victims," 10 Aug. 2019 Comparative evidence suggests that’s a red herring—lots of countries have violent video games; only the United States has three mass casualty shootings in one week. — Adam Rogers, WIRED, "How to Reduce Gun Violence: Ask Some Scientists," 6 Aug. 2019 During four days of combat in January 1945 on a German-fortified ridge in Rochelinval, the 551st suffered a crushing 84 percent casualty rate. — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Daughter honors father’s memory at 75th anniversary of ‘The Other D-Day’ in France," 6 Aug. 2019 Social media is not directly responsible for mass casualty incidents. — Kristina Libby, Popular Mechanics, "Why Tech Will Never Be Able to Predict the Next Mass Shooting," 6 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'casualty.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for casualty
casualty
noun
English Language Learners Definition of casualty
: a person who is hurt or killed during an accident, war, etc.
: a person or thing that is harmed, lost, or destroyed
See the full definition for casualty in the English Language Learners Dictionary
casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
| \ ˈka-zhəl-tē
\
\
plural casualties
Kids Definition of casualty
1
: a person who is hurt or killed in a war, disaster, or accident
2
: a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed
The old tree was a casualty of the storm.
casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
| \ ˈkazh-əl-tē, ˈkazh-(ə-)wəl-
\
\
plural casualties
Medical Definition of casualty
1
: a serious or fatal accident
2
: a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action
3a
: injury or death from accident
b
: one injured or killed (as by accident)
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casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
| \ ˈka-zhəl-tē, ˈka-zhə-wəl-
\
\
plural casualties
Legal Definition of casualty
1
: an unfortunate occurrence
especially
: a serious and often disastrous accident
conversion of property…arising from fire, storm, shipwreck, or other casualty — Internal Revenue Code
2
: something lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed — see also casualty gain at gain, casualty loss at loss