Gatling gun

[ gat-ling ]

noun
  1. an early type of machine gun consisting of a revolving cluster of barrels around a central axis, each barrel being automatically loaded and fired every revolution of the cluster.

Origin of Gatling gun

1
1860–65, Americanism; named after R. J. Gatling (1818–1903), U.S. inventor

Words Nearby Gatling gun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Gatling gun in a sentence

  • Yo' dun work yo' snowballs lik da was comin' from a Gatling gun!

    The Rover Boys on the Farm | Arthur M. Winfield (AKA Edward Stratemeyer)
  • Next he bought a perfect Gatling-gun of an echo in Oregon, and it cost a fortune, I can tell you.

    Alonzo Fitz and Other Stories | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
  • Ef it's sport ye want, get a single-shot rifle, ef it's destruction, get a Gatling-gun.

    Two Little Savages | Ernest Thompson Seton
  • You couldnt get me away with a Gatling gun, said Tom, grimly.

  • A Gatling gun was placed in position nearby, and a detail of sharpshooters was stationed where they could command the streets.

British Dictionary definitions for Gatling gun

Gatling gun

/ (ˈɡætlɪŋ) /


noun
  1. a hand-cranked automatic machine gun equipped with a rotating cluster of barrels that are fired in succession using brass cartridges

Origin of Gatling gun

1
C19: named after R. J. Gatling (1818–1903), its US inventor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012