# shrapnel

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈʃɹæpnəl/ · frequency rank #23,994

## Definitions
1. An anti-personnel artillery shell used in World War I which carries a large number of individual bullets or balls close to the target and then ejects them to allow them to continue along the shell's trajectory and strike the target individually.
2. The bullets or balls from the aforementioned type of artillery shell.
3. Any shot, fragments, or debris thrown out by an exploding shell, bomb, or landmine.
4. Debris.
5. Loose change.

## Etymology
From Shrapnel. Named after British army officer Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842) who invented an anti-personnel shell that transported a large number of bullets to the target before releasing them, at a far greater distance than rifles could fire the bullets individually. The surname is likely a metathesized form of Charbonnel, a diminutive of Old French charbon (“charcoal”) in reference to hair color, complexion, or the like.

## Common misspellings (13)
`hsrapnel`, `sharpnel`, `shhrapnel`, `shranpel`, `shrapenl`, `shrapnell`, `shrapnle`, `shrapnnel`, `shrappnel`, `shrpanel`, `shrrapnel`, `srhapnel`, `sshrapnel`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shrapnel