cannon ball
2
4.1
- noun
- /ˈkænən bɔl/
- Archaic
- Damnation... cannon ball tore one leg to shreds.
Examples
-
Historians found a cannon ball buried in the field, likely from the Civil War era.
-
French and Russian cannon balls tore through their ranks.
-
I've got bullets - he's got frigging cannon balls.
Blog text (24) -
Every year, farmers and treasure hunters with metal detectors still turn up musket balls, cannon balls, badges, belts, and bone fragments.
Academic text (2007) -
Athos is cut off by an ear-piercing whistle as a cannon ball drops out of the sky and strikes the ground nearby, sending up a tremendous explosion.
Fiction book (1993) -
During the battle, the cannon ball crashed into the enemy's fortifications, causing significant damage.
-
The large cannon ball rolled down the hill after being fired from the cannon.
Synonyms
36
6.6
An object thrown or fired through the air, often used as a weapon
18
8.6
A solid round bullet used in old guns
14
4.6
A solid round iron ball fired from a cannon in the past
2
8.6
A small round piece of lead that a musket fires
1
9.9
A solid metal ball used in cannons in the past
1
7.9
A piece of metal fired from a rifle, originally round but later long
How Big
∞
1.8
- Specialized
11
7.5
- Archaic
2
4.1
- Archaic
2
8.6
17
4.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'cannon' (a large artillery piece) + 'ball' (a spherical projectile); a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer a spherical projectile used in a cannon. This noun–noun compound is literal and cross-linguistically common, so it is transparent to learners.
Etymology
Cannon ball comes from the plain picture of a heavy ball fired from a large gun, the cannon, where soldiers used solid iron or stone balls to break walls or ships. So today cannon ball means 'a heavy, round object shot from a cannon'.