Mills bomb

noun

Any of a series of British fragmentation hand grenades.

First used 20th c.
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Meanings

nounMills bomb (plural Mills bombs)

plural Mills bombs

  1. Any of a series of British fragmentation hand grenades.First known use 20th c.

    He said when he pulled the pin out of the Mills bomb, he was always afraid it would go off before he got it out of his hand.

    1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York, published 2007, page 118
    1 more example

    They made a rush forward again, the dust and smoke clearing a little, and they heard the elastic twang of Mills bombs as they reached an empty trench, very narrow where shelling had not wrecked or levelled it.

    1929, Frederic Manning, The Middle Parts of Fortune, Vintage, published 2014, page 10

Origin

Named after British inventor Sir William Mills (1856–1932).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Mills bomb. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mills%20bomb

MLA

“Mills bomb.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mills%20bomb. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Mills bomb,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mills%20bomb.

Source: Mills bomb on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.