Meaning of powder burn | Babel Free

Definitions

A burn, ordinarily superficial and on someone's skin, resulting from proximity to an explosion of gunpowder, such as that associated with the discharge of a firearm.

Examples

“To anxious throngs who crowded into Mexico City's Palacio Nacional this week, bland President Manuel Avila Camacho displayed a two-inch swath burned in the jacket of his grey-and-red striped suit, a similar powder burn in his white shirt beneath. The burns were over his heart. A jiu jitsu trick and somewhat erratic marksmanship were all that had saved the President.”

“Most had head wounds and powder burns, indicating that they had been shot at close range.”

“Tom Chaney is a depraved man who kills for no good reason. . . . Chaney has a powder burn on his face.”

CEFR level