gun
Other forms: guns; gunning; gunned
A gun is a hand-held weapon that fires bullets or shells. A hunter's gun looks very different from the gun carried in a holster by a police officer.Guns come in all shapes and sizes, but they are all dangerous weapons.
Most guns are designed to kill or injure, whether when hunting animals or used for self-defense. There are also starting guns, which make a loud noise to mark the start of a race; squirt guns, which fire streams of water; and paintball guns, used to shoot paint pellets during a paintball game. A so-called "hired gun" is a professional who's paid for their particular abilities. "Son of a gun" is an informal, fond way to refer to someone.
Definitions of gun
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a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)
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types:
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air gun, air rifle, airgun
a gun that propels a projectile by compressed air
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ack-ack, ack-ack gun, antiaircraft, antiaircraft gun, flack, flak, pom-pom
artillery designed to shoot upward at airplanes
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breechloader
a gun that is loaded at the breech
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cannon
heavy automatic gun fired from an airplane
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cannon
heavy gun fired from a tank
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firearm, piece, small-arm
a portable gun
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gas gun
a gun that fires gas shells
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minute gun
(military) gun that is discharged once every minute (usually as part of a military funeral)
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Quaker gun
a dummy gun or piece of artillery made usually of wood
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set gun, spring gun
a gun that is set to fire on any intruder that comes in contact with the wire that sets it off
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whaling gun
a gun (or device resembling a gun) for discharging a projectile (especially a harpoon) at a whale
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autoloader, self-loader
a firearm that reloads itself
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BB gun
an air gun in which BBs are propelled by compressed air
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Bofors gun
an automatic double-barreled antiaircraft gun
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muzzle loader
an obsolete firearm that was loaded through the muzzle
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paintball gun
an air gun used in the game of paintball; designed to simulate a semiautomatic
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handgun, pistol, shooting iron, side arm
a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
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repeater, repeating firearm
a firearm that can fire several rounds without reloading
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rifle
a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore
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riot gun
a firearm designed to disperse rioters rather than to inflict serious injury or death
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scattergun, shotgun
firearm that is a double-barreled smoothbore shoulder weapon for firing shot at short ranges
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smoothbore
a firearm that has no rifling
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.22, twenty-two
a .22 caliber firearm (pistol or rifle)
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type of:
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arm, weapon, weapon system
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
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a hand-operated pump that resembles a revolver; forces grease into parts of a machine
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synonyms:
grease-gun
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type of:
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pump
a mechanical device that moves fluid or gas by pressure or suction
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pump
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the discharge of a firearm as signal or as a salute in military ceremonies“two runners started before the gun”“a twenty gun salute”
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type of:
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discharge, firing, firing off
the act of discharging a gun
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discharge, firing, firing off
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a person who shoots a gun (as regards their ability)
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a professional killer who uses a gun
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synonyms:
gun for hire, gunman, gunslinger, hired gun, hit man, hitman, shooter, torpedo, triggerman
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type of:
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liquidator, manslayer, murderer
a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
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liquidator, manslayer, murderer
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large but transportable armament
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synonyms:
artillery, heavy weapon, ordnance
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types:
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cannon
a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels
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field artillery, field gun
movable artillery (other than antiaircraft) used by armies in the field (especially for direct support of front-line troops)
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four-pounder
an artillery gun that throws a shot weighing four pounds
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basilisk
ancient brass cannon
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culverin
a heavy cannon with a long barrel used in the 16th and 17th centuries
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harpoon gun
a cannon or similar gun that fires harpoons
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high-angle gun
a cannon that can be fired at a high elevation for relatively short ranges
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long tom
a long swivel cannon formerly used by the navy
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type of:
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armament
weaponry used by military or naval force
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a pedal that controls the throttle valve
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synonyms:
accelerator, accelerator pedal, gas, gas pedal, throttle
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type of:
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foot lever, foot pedal, pedal, treadle
a lever that is operated with the foot
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foot lever, foot pedal, pedal, treadle
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shoot with a gun
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types:
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machine gun
shoot with a machine gun
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machine gun
Pronunciation
US
/gən/
UK
/gən/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘gun'.
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