noun

dumdum

DUM-dum/ˈdʌmdʌm/

A bullet designed to expand or flatten on impact.

A dumdum expands on impact rather than keeping its original shape.

A simple side-by-side view of an intact expanding bullet and a recovered bullet with its nose visibly mushroomed, illustrating expansion on impact without a weapon, injury, or technical diagram.

Etymology

dumdumunspecifiedarsenal name; hill, mound, battery

Dum-Dum, the arsenal's place name, literally meant 'hill, mound, battery.' The expanding bullet took its name from this arsenal in Bengal, where British soldiers made the type.

More examples

The museum displays a dumdum beside a standard rifle bullet.
The recovered dumdum is flattened at the tip.
The article explains restrictions on using dumdums in warfare.

Forms

dumdum · dumdums

Similar words

hollow-point: Specifies a bullet with a hollow tip that promotes expansion.
soft-point: Specifies a bullet with an exposed soft tip that expands.