# casualty

/ˈkæʒəɫti/ (US) · /kˈæʒuːəlti/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/casualty
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. victim of accident or war

noun · CEFR B2

a person who is injured or killed in a serious accident or a war.

For teachers: a person killed or injured in a war or accident. Often used in the plural to report total losses after a conflict or disaster.

- The news reported that there were many casualties after the earthquake hit the city.
- Military analysts expressed concern over the rising number of civilian casualties as the conflict moved into more densely populated urban areas.

### 2. metaphorical victim

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

someone or something that is destroyed or suffers because of a situation or event.

For teachers: a person or thing that suffers, is lost, or is destroyed as a result of a particular event or series of events.

- Small local shops were the main casualties of the new shopping mall opening nearby.
- The arts programme became an early casualty of the government's aggressive new austerity measures and budget cuts.

### 3. hospital department

noun · CEFR B2 · British English

the part of a hospital where people go when they have a sudden injury or emergency.

For teachers: the department of a hospital providing immediate treatment for emergency cases.

- He was rushed to casualty after he fell off his bike and broke his arm.
- The casualty department was overwhelmed on Saturday night following a multi-vehicle pileup on the motorway.

Usage: Often used as a proper noun or as 'the casualty department'.

### 4. military unavailability

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a soldier who cannot fight anymore because they are dead, hurt, sick, or captured.

For teachers: a person in military service who becomes unavailable for duty due to death, injury, illness, capture, or desertion.

- The general was shocked by the high casualty rate during the first day of the battle.
- The official report included every soldier missing in action as a casualty until their specific status could be verified by field intelligence.

## Examples

- The army reported very few casualties after the battle.
- Emergency services rushed to the scene of the crash to treat the casualties and secure the area.
- While the physical casualties of the conflict were documented daily, the long-term psychological toll on the civilian population remained largely unquantified for several decades.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.