Shrapnel \Shrap"nel\, a. Applied as an appellation to a kind of shell invented by Gen. H. Shrapnel of the British army. -- n. A shrapnel shell; shrapnel shells, collectively. {Shrapnel shell} (Gunnery), a projectile for a cannon, consisting of a shell filled with bullets and a small bursting charge to scatter them at any given point while in flight. See the Note under {Case shot}.