cannon

¹ American  

[kan-uhn] / ˈkæn ən /

noun

PLURAL

cannons,

PLURAL

cannon

1. a mounted gun for firing heavy projectiles; a gun, howitzer, or mortar.

2. British Machinery. quill.

3. Armor. a cylindrical or semicylindrical piece of plate armor for the upper arm or forearm; a vambrace or rerebrace.

4. Also called canon bit.  Also called cannon bit,.  a round bit for a horse.

5. the part of a bit that is in the horse's mouth.

6. (on a bell) the metal loop by which a bell is hung.

7. Zoology.

   1. cannon bone.

   2. the part of the leg in which the cannon bone is situated.

8. British. a carom in billiards.

9. Underworld Slang. a pickpocket.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to discharge cannon.

2. British. to make a carom in billiards.

Cannon ² American  

[kan-uhn] / ˈkæn ən /

noun

1. Annie Jump 1863–1941, U.S. astronomer.

2. Joseph Gurney Uncle Joe, 1836–1926, U.S. politician and legislator.

---

cannon British  

/ ˈkænən /

noun

1. an automatic aircraft gun of large calibre

2. history a heavy artillery piece consisting of a metal tube mounted on a carriage

3. a heavy tube or drum, esp one that can rotate freely on the shaft by which it is supported

4. the metal loop at the top of a bell, from which it is suspended

5. See cannon bone

6. billiards

   1. a shot in which the cue ball is caused to contact one object ball after another

   2. Usual US and Canadian word: carom.  the points scored by this

7. a rebound or bouncing back, as of a ball off a wall

8. either of the two parts of a vambrace

---

verb

1. to collide (with)

2. short for cannonade

3. (intr) billiards to make a cannon

Cannon Scientific  

/ kăn′ən /

1. American astronomer noted for her work on classifying stellar spectra. Cannon classified the spectra of 225,300 stars brighter than magnitude 8.5, as well as 130,000 fainter stars.

---

Etymology

Origin of cannon

First recorded in 1375–1425 (earlier in Anglo-Latin, Anglo-French ); late Middle English canon, from Middle French, from Italian cannone, equivalent to cann(a) “tube” (from Latin ) + -one augmentative suffix; cane

Example Sentences

Artificial snow is made using snow cannons which spray water into the cold air where it turns into fine snow.

From Barron's

The production companies “were shooting money out of a cannon,” Hackman said.

From The Wall Street Journal

The same tools developed to bore cannon barrels were then used to improve steam engines.

From The Wall Street Journal

Students in about 90 cities across the country took part in a school strike on 5 December in protest against the move, with some using the slogan "Don't end up as cannon fodder".

From BBC

In the end, investors are likely to follow another nugget of wisdom from the Obi-wan cannon: “Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them.”

From Barron's

Related Words

• howitzer
• mortar
• ordnance