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
The very functions that could inform smarter, more efficient resource allocation become the first casualties.
—Nick Hart, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
These attacks typically involve drivers intentionally plowing into crowds, often during festivals, parades, or protests, causing chaos and mass casualties.
—Jenna Sundel
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 May 2025
Karl Lado spent 26 years as a naval submarine repair officer and Sue Lado was a combat casualty assistance nurse the last 13 years of her nursing career.
—Sarah Sekula, USA Today, 27 May 2025
Altmaier triumphed 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 against fourth-seed Fritz, who becomes the first major casualty of the men’s draw at Roland-Garros.
—George Ramsay, CNN Money, 26 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for casualty
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Nick Hart, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
These attacks typically involve drivers intentionally plowing into crowds, often during festivals, parades, or protests, causing chaos and mass casualties.
—Jenna Sundel
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 May 2025
Karl Lado spent 26 years as a naval submarine repair officer and Sue Lado was a combat casualty assistance nurse the last 13 years of her nursing career.
—Sarah Sekula, USA Today, 27 May 2025
Altmaier triumphed 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 against fourth-seed Fritz, who becomes the first major casualty of the men’s draw at Roland-Garros.
—George Ramsay, CNN Money, 26 May 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 31 May. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share