Dictionary.com

Gatling gun

[ gat-ling ]
/ ˈgæt lɪŋ /
See synonyms for Gatling gun on Thesaurus.com

noun

an early type of machine gun consisting of a revolving cluster of barrels around a central axis, each barrel being automatically loaded and fired every revolution of the cluster.

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Origin of Gatling gun

1860–65, Americanism; named after R. J. Gatling (1818–1903), U.S. inventor

Words nearby Gatling gun

Gathic, Gatineau, gating, Gatlinburg, Gatling, Gatling gun, gator, Gatorade, GATT, gat-toothed, Gatun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for Gatling gun

  • There was a Gatling-gun, worked by a young officer and five men, a few hundred yards to the right at the edge of the woods.

    Captain Jinks, Hero|Ernest Crosby

  • Ef it's sport ye want, get a single-shot rifle, ef it's destruction, get a Gatling-gun.

    Two Little Savages|Ernest Thompson Seton

British Dictionary definitions for Gatling gun

Gatling gun
/ (ˈɡætlɪŋ) /

noun

a hand-cranked automatic machine gun equipped with a rotating cluster of barrels that are fired in succession using brass cartridges

Word Origin for Gatling gun

C19: named after R. J. Gatling (1818–1903), its US inventor
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