blowgun

[ bloh-guhn ]

/ ˈbloʊˌgʌn /

noun

a pipe or tube through which darts or other missiles are blown by the breath.

Nearby words

blowdown, blowed, blower, blowfish, blowfly, blowgun, blowhard, blowhole, blowie, blowing, blowing wound

Origin of blowgun

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10; blow² + gun¹

Also called blowtube.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for blow-gun

His words were punctuated by the deadly pop of Pinto's blow-gun.
The Inca Emerald|Samuel Scoville
The man who drinks three or four cups of tuba becomes like the noisy bird that I shot with my blow-gun.
Philippine Folk Tales|Mabel Cook Cole
"We stay," murmured Joe, while Hen nodded his head and Pinto fitted one of his fatal little arrows into his blow-gun.
The Inca Emerald|Samuel Scoville
Now and then Guapo brought down a parrot, a macaw, or an aracari, with his blow-gun; but these were only temporary supplies.
The Forest Exiles|Mayne Reid

Guapo, blow-gun in hand, was continually peering up among the tree-tops in search of monkeys or other game.
The Forest Exiles|Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for blow-gun

blowgun

/ (ˈbləʊˌɡʌn) /

noun

the US word for blowpipe (def. 1)

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