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definitions

gunpoint

[ guhn-point ]
/ ˈgʌnˌpɔɪnt /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gunpoint ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the point or aim of a gun.

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RELATED WORDS

pressured

Nearby words

  1. gunning,
  2. gunny,
  3. gunnysack,
  4. gunpaper,
  5. gunplay,
  6. gunport,
  7. gunpowder,
  8. gunpowder plot,
  9. gunpowder tea,
  10. gunrunner

Idioms

    at gunpoint, under threat of being shot: He carried out the robber's orders at gunpoint.

Origin of gunpoint

First recorded in 1955–60; gun1 + point
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for at gunpoint

gunpoint

/ (ˈɡʌnˌpɔɪnt) /

noun

the muzzle of a gun
at gunpoint being under or using the threat of being shot
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
Idioms and Phrases with at gunpoint

at gunpoint

Also, at knifepoint. Under coercion, as in I'm going to hold him at gunpoint for that raise he promised me last year. Both these phrases were at first used literally and later also figuratively. [Mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.