Dictionary

Mills bomb en · NOUN

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. Any of a series of British fragmentation hand grenades.
   • 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:
   • 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:

Forms