.22

American  

[twen-tee-too, twuhn-] / ˈtwɛn tiˈtu, ˈtwʌn- /

Or twenty-two

noun

.22s, plural .22's plural

1. a rifle or pistol using a cartridge .22 inch in diameter and of varying length.

2. the cartridge itself.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• .22's
  plural
• .22s
  plural

Etymology

Origin of .22

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

.22 .22's .22s

At one point, Mr Pozzolo appears to have shown guests his .22 calibre mini-revolver, one of the smallest commercially available, which he has a license to own.

From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2024

The firearm, a .22 caliber handgun, was loaded with five bullets, TSA said.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 10, 2023

At the London Games, Antyukh finished in 52.70 seconds, lowering her personal best by .22 to beat Demus by .07.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2022

At her lane, she took out her three handguns — a Walther .22 with a Glock and Smith & Wesson, both 9-millimeters — and placed them before her, with care.

From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2022

There just wouldn’t be any pony or a .22, and that’s all there was to it.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

That left us 120 rounds of .45-70's and 500 rounds of .22's.

From The Lure of the Labrador Wild by Wallace, Dillon

On a low, barren knoll we cached that day eighty rounds of .45-70 cartridges and 300 rounds of .22's,

From The Lure of the Labrador Wild by Wallace, Dillon

George Robertson says he knew that Forsyth also wanted the ban on .22s but was bound by cabinet responsibility.

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026

“As kids, we shot .22s to have meat on the table.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2022

There are worn old .22s you might give a kid to shoot squirrels.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 7, 2019

Category A is .22s, shotguns and air rifles.

From Time ● Jan. 13, 2016

So I just stood there with monkeys, dollars, ponies, and .22s running around in my head, and waited while Grandpa cut all kinds of didos.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls