casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
ˈka-zhəl-tē 
ˈkazh-wəl-,
ˈka-zhə-wəl-
plural casualties
1
a
: 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
J. S. SeidmanExamples 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
Romanian authorities said a Russian drone had crossed into its airspace on Saturday, but that the uncrewed aerial vehicle left the country's airspace without causing damage or casualties.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Multi-day tickets were a casualty of Covid.
—Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Experts estimate that drones cause anywhere from 70 to 80% of casualties in the Ukraine war.
—Joseph Nepomuceno, The Washington Examiner, 13 Sep. 2025
The letter comes after Russia last week launched its largest air assault of the war since the country invaded Ukraine in 2022—an assault that included over 800 strike drones and resulted in multiple casualties.
—Rebecca Schneid, Time, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for casualty
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Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Multi-day tickets were a casualty of Covid.
—Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Experts estimate that drones cause anywhere from 70 to 80% of casualties in the Ukraine war.
—Joseph Nepomuceno, The Washington Examiner, 13 Sep. 2025
The letter comes after Russia last week launched its largest air assault of the war since the country invaded Ukraine in 2022—an assault that included over 800 strike drones and resulted in multiple casualties.
—Rebecca Schneid, Time, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for casualty
Cite this Entry
“Casualty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/casualty. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
ˈkazh-əl-tē
ˈkazh-(ə-)wəl-
plural casualties
1
: a serious or fatal accident : disaster
2
a
: a military person lost (as by death or capture) during warfare
b
: a person or thing injured, lost, or destroyed
Medical Definition
casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
ˈkazh-əl-tē, ˈkazh-(ə-)wəl-
plural casualties
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
3
a
: injury or death from accident
b
: one injured or killed (as by accident)
Legal Definition
casualty
noun
ca·su·al·ty
ˈka-zhəl-tē, ˈka-zhə-wəl-
plural casualties
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
Internal Revenue Code 2
: something lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed see also casualty gain at gain, casualty loss at loss
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