arsenal

Everyday

1. An arsenal is a big collection of weapons, or a building where weapons are made or stored. tree →
2. An arsenal can mean any big set of tools, tricks or ideas: «an arsenal of jokes». tree →
3. Arsenal is a famous football club in north London, England. tree →

In the lessons

In history lessons, arsenals stored guns and gunpowder for armies; in news, countries have «nuclear arsenals». In everyday UK talk, «Arsenal» usually means the football club, nicknamed «the Gunners». In sports and games, a player can have «an arsenal of skills». Phrases: «nuclear arsenal», «an arsenal of», «Arsenal fan».

Examples

• The army kept its cannons in the arsenal. tree →
• Some countries have large nuclear arsenals. tree →
• My brother is a huge Arsenal fan. tree →
• The chess player had an arsenal of clever moves. tree →
• The teacher has an arsenal of fun maths games. tree →
• Arsenal won the match two goals to nil. tree →

Note

Countable; capital A for the football club. The club name was taken from the Royal Arsenal, a weapons factory in London. «Arsenal» is not related to «arsenic» (a poison), though they look alike.