powder keg
1
7.7
- noun
- /ˈpaʊdər kɛg/
- Archaic
:
barril de pólvora
- The old powder keg was stored in the basement.
Examples
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Accidentally dropping a lantern near the powder keg could have caused a huge explosion.
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Each miner carried a small powder keg to the blasting site.
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The old fort still had a powder keg stored in its cellar.
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They discovered a powder keg from the 1800s.
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The soldiers carefully stored the gunpowder in a secure powder keg to prevent any accidents.
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During the war, each powder keg was marked with a warning to ensure safety.
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The engineer inspected the powder keg to guarantee that it was sealed tightly and safe from leakage.
Synonyms
57
2.0
A small barrel for storing and serving beer
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is a transparent noun-noun composition: 'powder' (gunpowder) simply specifies the content of a 'keg' (small barrel), so its meaning 'a keg containing powder' is directly derivable from the constituents. This straightforward compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Powder keg: The noun powder keg meant a strong small barrel used to hold powder for guns or mining. Because the gunpowder was dangerous, the keg could 'explode' if it caught fire.