Cordite is an explosive substance used in guns and bombs.
cordite in British English
(ˈkɔːdaɪt)
noun
any of various explosive materials used for propelling bullets, shells, etc, containing cellulose nitrate, sometimes mixed with nitroglycerine, plasticizers, and stabilizers
Word origin
C19: from cord + -ite1, referring to its stringy appearance
cordite in American English
(ˈkɔrˌdaɪt)
noun
a smokeless explosive containing nitroglycerin, guncotton, petroleum jelly, and acetone
Word origin
cord + -ite1: so called from its stringy appearance
Examples of 'cordite' in a sentence
cordite
The whole place reeked of cordite: a blue haze of gunsmoke rose towards the floodlights.
Shah, Idries KARA KUSH (2002)
The hot smell of cordite was everywhere, and dust thickened the night air.
Townsend, Eileen IN LOVE AND WAR (2002)
All the other times it grazed him with a lurid action beat: shock, fear, pain, adrenaline hemorrhaging, and the brimstone reek of cordite.