|
  • Search Results
  • Advanced Search
  • List Builder
  • Random Word

cannon

A cannon is a large gun that fires heavy metal shells or other projectiles. Originally it was attached to wheels and pulled by men.

More recently, cannon refers to the largest gun on a tank or the automatic guns on a plane. All cannons, however old they are, have basically the same shape — a long, thick tube. Not surprising, then, that the term comes from the Latin word canna, meaning "tube" or "reed." Do not confuse with the word canon, with one n, which is a term of classification, as in its most common usage, "the literary canon."

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: cannon

1
 nv
a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels
fire a cannon
2
 n
(Middle Ages) a cylindrical piece of armor plate to protect the arm
3
 n
lower part of the leg extending from the hock to the fetlock in hoofed mammals
4
 nv
a shot in billiards in which the cue ball contacts one object ball and then the other
make a cannon
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: cannon
1

n a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels

Types:
show 6 types...
hide 6 types...
basilisk
ancient brass cannon
culverin
a heavy cannon with a long barrel used in the 16th and 17th centuries
harpoon gun
a cannon or similar gun that fires harpoons
high-angle gun
a cannon that can be fired at a high elevation for relatively short ranges
long tom
a long swivel cannon formerly used by the navy
howitzer, mortar, trench mortar
a muzzle-loading high-angle gun with a short barrel that fires shells at high elevations for a short range
Type of:
artillery, gun, heavy weapon, ordnance
large but transportable armament

n heavy gun fired from a tank

Type of:
gun
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)

n heavy automatic gun fired from an airplane

Type of:
gun
a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)

v fire a cannon

Type of:
discharge, muster out
release from military service
2

n (Middle Ages) a cylindrical piece of armor plate to protect the arm

Types:
rerebrace, upper cannon
cannon that provides plate armor for the upper arm
lower cannon, vambrace
cannon of plate armor protecting the forearm
Type of:
armor plate, armor plating, armour plate, plate armor, plate armour
specially hardened steel plate used to protect fortifications or vehicles from enemy fire
3

n lower part of the leg extending from the hock to the fetlock in hoofed mammals

Synonyms:
shank
Type of:
body part
any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity
4

n a shot in billiards in which the cue ball contacts one object ball and then the other

Synonyms:
carom
Type of:
shot, stroke
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand

v make a cannon

Type of:
hit
cause to move by striking
Launch
WORD FAMILY
USAGE EXAMPLES