arsenal
7 synonyms for arsenal, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A place where weapons and ammunition are made, stored, or repaired.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use arsenal
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
nuclear arsenal
weapons arsenal
arsenal of tricks
Etymology
From Italian arsenale, tracing back to Arabic dar as-sina'a, "house of manufacture" — originally a naval dockyard.
Full origin of arsenal →Frequently asked questions
What does “arsenal” mean?
The word “arsenal” means a place where weapons and ammunition are made, stored, or repaired. In plain terms, a store of weapons — or, more broadly, any impressive collection of tools or tactics ready for use.
How do you pronounce “arsenal”?
“Arsenal” is pronounced AH-suh-nuhl (/ˈɑɹsənəl/ in IPA).
How do you use “arsenal” in a sentence?
Here is “arsenal” used in a sentence: “The old naval arsenal is now a museum.”
What part of speech is “arsenal”?
“Arsenal” is a noun.
Where does the word “arsenal” come from?
The word “arsenal” comes from Italian. From Italian arsenale, tracing back to Arabic dar as-sina'a, "house of manufacture" — originally a naval dockyard.
Is “arsenal” a common word?
“Arsenal” is a fairly common word in modern English.
How many meanings does “arsenal” have?
“Arsenal” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a place where weapons and ammunition are made, stored, or repaired.
What is the difference between an arsenal and an armory?
An arsenal is a place where weapons and ammunition are made, stored, or repaired, and the word also means the full stock of weapons a group has. An armory overlaps heavily but tends to refer specifically to a storage building for arms, while arsenal can additionally imply production and the overall collection.
Can arsenal be used figuratively?
Yes. Because arsenal can mean the full range of resources a person or group has available, it is often used figuratively, as in an arsenal of arguments or an arsenal of skills. In this sense it simply means a large and varied supply of useful tools.
What is the difference between an arsenal and a stockpile?
An arsenal specifically concerns weapons and ammunition, and can also name the facility where they are kept. A stockpile is a large reserve of almost anything gathered for future use, so every arsenal is a kind of stockpile, but not every stockpile is an arsenal.
