blowgun

[bloh-guhn]

noun

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

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

Historical Examples of blow-gun

But the blow-gun was at length levelled, and the curare did its work.
The Forest Exiles
Mayne Reid
In Borneo the use of the blow-gun is not confined to the Dyaks.
Where the Strange Trails Go Down
E. Alexander Powell
They go by in a minute, and I take off the last one with my blow-gun.
The Inca Emerald
Samuel Scoville
His words were punctuated by the deadly pop of Pinto's blow-gun.
The Inca Emerald
Samuel Scoville
He spears fish and he kills birds and beasts with a blow-gun.
Tales of lonely trails
Zane Grey

British Dictionary definitions for blow-gun

blowgun

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

Word Origin and History for blow-gun

type of weapon, 1799, from blow (v.1) + gun (n.).