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Glite Dictionary
ball cartridge

ball cartridge

7.9
A small metal case that contains a bullet and enough powder to fire it
  • noun
  • /bɔl ˈkɑrtɪdʒ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cartucho de bala
  • The hunter loaded his rifle with a ball cartridge.

Examples

  • Unlike blanks, a ball cartridge is designed to fire an actual projectile.

  • The soldier loaded a ball cartridge into his rifle before advancing.

  • This box contains only ball cartridges, suitable for live ammunition training.

  • I found some ball cartridges in the old shed.

  • The soldier loaded his rifle with a ball cartridge before heading into the field.

  • For target practice, the instructor specified that we should use only ball cartridges.

  • The museum displayed a collection of antique firearms alongside various ball cartridges.

Synonyms

cartridge
vsball cartridge
  • Specialized
24 4.7

A metal or plastic case that holds a bullet and powder for a gun

refers specifically to a case holding a single bullet not shot or blank

Surface Forms

ball cartridge singular
ball cartridges plural

Morphology

ball + cartridge

The meaning 'a cartridge containing a bullet' is directly and compositionally derived from 'ball' (a solid projectile) + 'cartridge' (ammunition case), so the overall sense is predictable from the parts. This straightforward noun+noun modifier pattern is common cross-linguistically and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings.

Etymology

Ball cartridge comes from old guns that used a round lead ball as the bullet. A ball cartridge means a cartridge that holds a real bullet, not a 'blank' or many small 'shot', so it fires an actual projectile.