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gunpoint

[guhn-point]
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noun
  1. the point or aim of a gun.
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Idioms
  1. at gunpoint, under threat of being shot: He carried out the robber's orders at gunpoint.
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Origin of gunpoint

First recorded in 1955–60; gun1 + point
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for at gunpoint

gunpoint

noun
  1. the muzzle of a gun
  2. at gunpoint being under or using the threat of being shot
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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]

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