arsenal

noun

USAHR-suh-nuhl/ˈɑɹsənəl/SayAH-suh-nuhlUK/ˈɑːsənəl/AUS/ˈɐːsənəl/

3 meanings of arsenal

1
nouncountable
A store of weapons, especially the whole of the weaponry a nation possesses.
Both countries agreed to cut their nuclear arsenals by a third over ten years.
Police found an arsenal of rifles and ammunition in the suspect's garage.
Similarstockpile, cache, armory
2
nouncountable
A store or supply of anything, such as the resources someone can draw on to deal with a challenge.
The lawyer came to court with an arsenal of documents to back up every claim.
A sharp curveball is the most dangerous pitch in her arsenal.
Similarrepertoire, array, store, supply
Note
Away from war the word keeps a hint of combat: what sits in someone's arsenal is meant for a contest or a hardship, from arguments to charm. Hermione Hoby, interviewing Julia Roberts in 2014, puts “that smile” foremost in the actress's arsenal and calls it disarming, letting the old talk of weapons show through. It takes a possessive (in her arsenal) or of (an arsenal of documents).
3
nouncountable
A military establishment where arms, ammunition, and other war materiel are stored, developed, manufactured, tested, or repaired.
The government built a new arsenal near the port to repair artillery and manufacture shells.
Thousands of civilians worked at the arsenal during the war, filling cartridges around the clock.
Similararmory
Note
The word began as a workshop, not a storeroom: Italian arsenale came from Arabic dār aṣ-ṣināʕa, a “manufacturing shop”. That history is why an arsenal makes, tests and repairs weapons as well as keeping them. From the place the word moved to its contents, a nation's stock of weapons, and from there to any well-stocked supply.

Practice

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Origin

From Italian arsenale, from Arabic dār aṣ-ṣināʕa ("manufacturing shop"), made up of dār + ṣināʕa.