air rifle

noun

1. an air gun with rifled bore.

air rifle

noun

1. a rifle discharged by compressed air

Word History and Origins

Origin of air rifle¹

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

A court heard the victim had been armed with an air rifle outside a house on Bowesfield Lane when Matthews and four others, armed with weapons including an axe, went out to confront him.

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Mr Campbell is also accused of possessing an air rifle without a licence and discharging it on various occasions, and five charges of breach of the peace dating back to July 1995.

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The officers ordered him out of the car and believed they saw a firearm — later revealed to be a “break barrel air rifle” — between his legs when they opened fire.

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The pair described the weapon they had seen — later determined to be a “break-barrel air rifle” — as being “pinched” between Mitchell’s legs, according to a report from the district attorney’s office.

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Gonzalez, 54, was on the picket line in January when several of her co-workers were bruised by small metal balls fired by some sort of air rifle.

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