noun
- plural of petard: small explosive devices used historically to breach walls or gates
Usage: historical; military
Examples
- The soldiers used petards to blow open the castle gate.
- Medieval armies carried petards to breach fortress walls.
- The engineer was hoist with his own petard when the device exploded prematurely.
- Historical accounts describe the dangerous work of placing petards against enemy fortifications.
- The phrase ‘hoist with his own petard’ comes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.