Bren gun

American

[bren] / brɛn /

Or bren gun

noun

a .303-caliber, gas-operated, air-cooled, clip-fed submachine gun.

Bren gun British

/ brɛn /

noun

an air-cooled gas-operated light machine gun taking .303 calibre ammunition: used by British and Commonwealth forces in World War II

"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

Etymology

Origin of Bren gun

1935–40; Br(no) , Moravia + En ( field ), England, towns of manufacture

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One Maori wheeled his Bren gun in a streamlined perambulator.

From Time Magazine Archive

In Montreal's war plants Willkie watched tanks and Bren gun carriers moving off production lines, saw aircraft, minesweepers and corvettes abuilding.

From Time Magazine Archive

Streets in Tel-Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and other towns bristled with Bren gun carriers and road blocks.

From Time Magazine Archive

Among his "birthday presents": planes from South America, tanks from B.W.I., tanks and Bren gun carriers from The Netherlands Indies.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mr. Downing shot out orders, threats, and penalties with the rapidity of a Bren gun.

From Mike and Psmith by Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023