carbine
Americannoun
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a light, gas-operated semiautomatic rifle.
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(formerly) a short rifle used in the cavalry.
noun
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a light automatic or semiautomatic rifle of limited range
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Also called: carabin. carabine. a light short-barrelled shoulder rifle formerly used by cavalry
Etymology
Origin of carbine
1595–1605; earlier carabine < Middle French: small harquebus, weapon borne by a carabin a lightly armed cavalryman, compared with ( e ) scarabin gravedigger for plague victims (< Provençal, akin to French escarbot cockchafer, dung beetle ≪ Latin scarabaeus scarab ), though semantic change is unclear
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.
“What I remember is the time John Wayne killed three men with a carbine . . . and the time the kitten found Orson Welles in the doorway in The Third Man.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Pusser indeed owned a lot of guns, including a .30 carbine caliber revolver that Mike Elam managed to procure over the course of his investigation.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2025
The three weapons included a military-style semiautomatic rifle, one handgun and a small 9-mm carbine, Mr. Aaron said.
From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
I wanted an official Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot range model air rifle ...
From Salon ● Dec. 29, 2022
Measuring how quickly the flames were engulfing him, he hopped forward, the carbine in his right hand, the butt plate balanced against his hip.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
