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cap gun

American  

noun

  1. cap pistol.


Etymology

Origin of cap gun

An Americanism dating back to 1930–35


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The move follows similar laws introduced in Western Australia earlier this year to cap gun ownership.

From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025

But it was his other early work, studying the spectroscopic fingerprint of hydrogen, that would prove crucial a decade later, when he discovered an object that made a supernova look like a child’s cap gun.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2022

“I had one of these—the Hubley Atomic Disintegrator—as a kid. It’s a cap gun absolutely redolent of sci-fi romanticism!”

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 9, 2019

Gabriel, 25, was more than 100 yards away from the officers and had a toy cap gun.

From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2019

There were four pops in rapid succession, like a cap gun.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

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