1. A small shell, or bomb, containing an explosive and thrown by hand or fired from a rifle or launching device.
2. A similar missile containing a chemical, as for dispersing tear gas or fire-extinguishing substances.
3. A glass container filled with a chemical; such as, tear gas that is dispersed when the container is thrown and broken.

The name of the hand grenade which is thrown in war comes from the tropical fruit, the pomegranate and refers to "exploding seeds" because the many-seeded fruit suggested a description of a "powder-filled, fragmenting bomb".

The Romans called the pomegranate, pomum granatum, that is, "apple with seeds" or "seedy apple". The French altered the form to pome grenate which English changed to "pomegranate".

From the second element in this word, the French developed the term grenade, which was an appropriate name for this shell of explosive seeds. It should also be noted that the soldiers who threw the grenades were called grenadiers.