1. A dark, grainy substance that burns very fast and can explode. It is made by mix
1.nounB2
Definition
A dark, grainy substance that burns very fast and can explode. It is made by mixing saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur, and was once the main explosive used in guns and cannons. Today it is mostly used in fireworks and for firing old-style weapons.
Example
Chidi carefully poured black powder into the antique musket before the reenactment began.
collocation: pour black powder into [gun]
The fireworks factory keeps barrels of black powder in a separate building for safety.
collocation: barrels of black powder
Amelia watched the cannon crew load black powder and light the fuse at the fort.
Hiro read that people in China first mixed black powder over a thousand years ago.
historical origin: first used in China for celebrations
often used as a synonym in everyday speech, but gunpowder can also refer to modern smokeless varieties
Common Mistakes
The miners used black powder to blast through rock.
The miners used dynamite to blast through rock.
Black powder is the traditional gunpowder used in firearms and fireworks, not modern industrial explosives.
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
Gunpowder is the broadest term and can refer to any explosive powder used in firearms. Black powder is the original form of gunpowder, made from saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur — it produces a lot of smoke when fired. Smokeless powder, invented in the late 1800s, burns more cleanly and is much more powerful than black powder; it is the standard propellant in modern ammunition. Cordite is a type of smokeless powder shaped like thin cords, used mainly in military rifle and artillery rounds during the 20th century. In everyday conversation, 'gunpowder' and 'black powder' are often used interchangeably when talking about old weapons or fireworks.
A compound of 'black' (referring to the dark color of the mixture) and 'powder' (meaning a mass of fine particles). The term emerged in English around the 1400s to describe the dark explosive mixture, distinguishing it from later 'smokeless powder' which appeared in the late 19th century.