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.

Alternative form of powder burn

(alchemy, historical) A kind of powder supposed to be able to cure a wound if applied to the weapon that inflicted it, or to a portion of the bloodied clothes of the wounded person.

plural of baby powder

(skiing, slang) A skier who favours powdery snow.

plural of talcum powder

A special type of down that occurs in a few groups of apparently unrelated birds. In some species, the tips of the barbules on the feathers disintegrate, forming fine particles of keratin; in others, powder grains come from cells that surround the barbules of growing feathers.

sugar of lead

(historical) A powder applied to the weapon that caused a wound in the hope of healing the injury it had made.

plural of powder of sympathy