bazooka
Americannoun
-
bazookas
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bazooka
An Americanism dating back to 1930–35; from its resemblance to a musical instrument so named, invented and played by comedian Bob Burns in the 1930s and 1940s
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.
See Examples For:
But it’s not as extreme of an intervention as Mario Draghi’s “whatever it takes” pledge to preserve the euro or Ben Bernanke’s bazooka program in response to the collapse of Lehman Brothers, experts say.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
The bazooka was designed as a deterrent—and it seems to have deterred.
From Slate ● Jan. 23, 2026
So even if the commission were to pull the trigger now, it could be a year before the bazooka is actually fired.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
Markets may eventually catch on—but only if they stop looking for a bazooka and start paying attention to the plumbing.
From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025
He just wished the pockets were large enough for a chain saw, or maybe a bazooka.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
They usually carry bazookas, Kalashnikov rifles and machine guns, and arrive in Toyota pickup trucks.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
It is one thing to give Ukraine short-range anti-tank bazookas.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2022
“I didn’t ask for bazookas, tanks and flamethrowers,” he said.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 26, 2018
When he joined the BOE’s rate-setting committee in 2006, he said, opportunities for linguistic ingenuity were scarce, “so bazookas or sledgehammers weren’t on the table.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2016
A retired police chief in New Haven, Connecticut, told The New York Times, “I was offered tanks, bazookas, anything I wanted.”
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
