gunner

[ guhn-er ]

noun

1. a person who operates a gun or cannon.
2. Army. an occupational title in the artillery.
3. Navy. a person skilled in handling ammunition and gunnery equipment.
4. Marine Corps. a warrant officer who may be given any one of a number of assignments.
5. British.
   1. Military. a private in the artillery.
   2. Informal. any officer or enlisted person assigned to the artillery.
6. a person who hunts with a gun.

gunner

/ ˈɡʌnə /

noun

1. a serviceman who works with, uses, or specializes in guns
2. navy (formerly) a warrant officer responsible for the training of gun crews, their performance in action, and accounting for ammunition
3. (in the British Army) an artilleryman, esp a private gnr
4. a person who hunts with a rifle or shotgun

Derived Forms

• ˈgunnerˌship, noun

Other Words From

• gunner·ship noun
• under·gunner noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gunner¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; gun ¹, -er ¹

Example Sentences

The paste would be rolled into balls and then dried, and those balls would be crushed in a mortar by a gunner in the field right before it was used.

From Ars Technica

An interdisciplinary team of chemists and historians wanted to learn more about how various recipes for gunpowder evolved over the centuries as master gunners tweaked the basic components to achieve better results.

From Ars Technica

He’s not, as some have charged, a gunner or ball hog — you don’t have three 20-plus-assist games in six weeks playing that way.

From Washington Post

So my gunner tried to shoot near him to scare him but missed and hit him.

From The Daily Beast

With his first shot on the tour of duty, the same sniper killed a Taliban machine-gunner from 1,465 yards.

From The Daily Beast

On that date, Kravitz, an assistant machine-gunner attached to Company L, was in a defensive position on strategic key terrain.

From The Daily Beast

She had been at the Maidan tending to the wounded and a police submachine gunner shot her in the neck.

From The Daily Beast

Colt, Remington, and Gauge have all soared, and Gunner is much more common than the traditional name Gunnar.

From The Daily Beast

The gunner, who sits on the seat behind the gun, points it and pulls the trigger.

From Project Gutenberg

The gunner's seat moved with the carriage, from which he could elevate or depress the muzzle by a lever.

From Project Gutenberg

He might be interested in some of this news, as he was a gunner, and it is all about shells, if ever I get home to tell him!

From Project Gutenberg

We being at anchor and within range, the Rebel gunner had made nice calculations.

From Project Gutenberg

Acting under the gunner's orders the crew rested on their oars a short distance beyond the place where the whale had sounded.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• shooter