Ammunition refers to projectiles or explosive material prepared for use in weapons or firearms. It encompasses bullets, shells, charges, and related propulsion or explosive components, supplied in ready-to-use form. The term also appears metaphorically to mean any supplied resources or ammunition for a plan or argument.
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US: pronounce /æm.juˈnɪ.ʃən/, with a clear /ju/ and a slightly stronger final schwa. UK: may compress the final /ən/ slightly; ensure /nɪ/ is crisp. AU: often a more centralized final syllable; keep /ju/ distinct but the /nɪ/ remains clear; rhoticity is not a factor.
"The soldier loaded fresh ammunition into the magazine before the patrol."
"Campaigners argued that the new evidence would provide ammunition for their case in court."
"They kept extra ammunition in a locked cabinet for safety."
"The debate offered considerable ammunition for critics of the policy."
Ammunition comes from the French word munitions, dating to the 17th century, from the verb munir meaning to furnish or equip. The English term originally referred to military supplies and fortifications, later narrowing to materials used in firearms—such as bullets, shells, and powder charges. Its semantic scope expanded as weaponry evolved, including propellants and related devices. The root mun- is linked to Latin munit-, munire, meaning to fortify or defend, and is cognate with words like munition, municipal, and immune in related senses of protection or provisioning. Early uses in English appeared in military treatises and inventories for siege warfare, where reliable supplies of projectiles and explosives were critical. By the 18th and 19th centuries, ammunition had become a standardized category in military logistics, with numerous specialized types developed for muskets, artillery, and later firearms. In contemporary usage, ammunition can also be used metaphorically to denote resources that empower a position, argument, or strategy, retaining the core sense of supply or justification used to achieve a goal. The word reflects a long history of military technology and logistics, evolving from simple ammunition powder and bullets to a broad class of ready-to-use munitions and associated materials.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "ammunition" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "ammunition"
-ion sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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To say ammunition, stress falls on the third syllable: /ˌæm.juˈnɪʃ.ən/ in US and UK forms, with a slight extra syllable that leads into -tion. In careful speech you’ll hear it as AM-you-NISH-un, with the primary stress on the -nish- syllable. In fast speech, the second and third syllables fuse slightly, but the stress stays on the -nish- portion. IPA references: US /ˌæm.juˈnɪʃ.ən/, UK /ˌæm.juˈnɪ.ʃən/; AU follows similar pattern: /ˌæm.juˈnɪʃ.ən/.
Two frequent errors: (1) misplacing stress, saying AM-mu-NI-tion or a- M U nish-ən; keep primary stress on the third syllable -nɪʃ-. (2) pronouncing the middle sequence as am-yu-NI-tion with an inaccurate medial vowel; aim for a clear 'ju' as in 'you' before the 'ni' sound: /ˌæm.juˈnɪʃ.ən/. Practicing the two-step divide helps: /ˌæm.ju/ + /ˈnɪʃ.ən/ and blending.
US: syllables pronounced with a strong /ˌæs/ influence; the /ju/ becomes /juː/ in many speakers; primary stress on -nɪʃ-. UK: may feature a slightly shorter /ɪ/ and more clipped final /ən/; AU: often with a smoother, more central /ə/ in the final syllable, still keeping primary stress on -nɪʃ. The rhotic element is weak or absent in non-US accents; the /ju/ tends to be pronounced as /jə/ in some Australian pronunciations.
Because of its multi-syllabic structure and the near-syllabic cluster /ju/ followed by /nɪʃ/; the medial /ju/ can compress into a quick /ju/ or /jə/ depending on speaker; the final /ən/ can be reduced in rapid speech, changing the perceived rhythm. The stress on the middle-to-late syllable also makes it easy to misplace emphasis when speaking quickly.
No silent letters in standard pronunciation; all letters contribute to the sound. The -tion ending yields /ʃən/ or /ʃən/ depending on dialect and speech rate. The tricky part is correctly articulating the /ju/ as a separate syllable after the initial /æm/ and before /nɪ/.
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