English

Alternative forms

• powder-burn

Noun

powder burn ‎(plural powder burns)

1. 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.
   • 1944 April 17, "Mexico: At the Palacio Nacional," Time (retrieved 13 May 2014):

     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.

   • 1983 June 4, Lydia Chavez, "Salvador Photos Indicate Massacre," New York Times (retrieved 13 May 2014):

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

   • 2013 Oct. 8, grumpynerd, "Writer's Book Report: TRUE GRIT," Daily Kos (retrieved 13 May 2014):

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

References

• powder burn at OneLook Dictionary Search