Bren gun

American  

[bren] / brɛn /

Or bren gun

noun

1. a .303-caliber, gas-operated, air-cooled, clip-fed submachine gun.

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Bren gun British  

/ brɛn /

noun

1. an air-cooled gas-operated light machine gun taking .303 calibre ammunition: used by British and Commonwealth forces in World War II

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Etymology

Origin of Bren gun

1935–40; Br(no) , Moravia + En ( field ), England, towns of manufacture

Example Sentences

Only three weeks before the outbreak of the war did the British military discover that Bren gun carriers and small tanks could negotiate water-covered rice fields.

From Time Magazine Archive

Under persuasive Sergeant Nelson and a physical instructor with "the face of an executioner who is kind to his children when off duty," rookies learn drill, the Bren gun, spit-&-polish and super-discipline.

From Time Magazine Archive

They took a long look at his Bren gun and hollered "Gestapo."

From Time Magazine Archive

At midnight armored cars, Bren gun carriers, lorries packed with troops rolled out from the suburban barracks and into Khartoum and its sister cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North.

From Time Magazine Archive

To complete the course we hurled a few Mills bombs, fired a Bren gun, marched around a bit and behaved as soldiers were supposed to do and then we returned to our more sedentary duties.��

From Coming of Age: 1939-1946 by Cox, John