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business end

noun
  1. the front part or end of a tool, weapon, etc., with which the work is done or from which a missile is ejected, as opposed to the handle or butt: the business end of a revolver; the business end of a screwdriver.
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Origin of business end

First recorded in 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for business end

Historical Examples

  • They'll see now that some of us know the business-end of a musket.

    How Canada was Won

    F. S. Brereton

  • The Gentleman who sits on a pin with its business-end uppermost.

British Dictionary definitions for business end

business end

noun
  1. informal the part of a tool or weapon that does the work, as contrasted with the handle
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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