gun

[ guhn ]

/ gʌn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gun ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a weapon consisting of a metal tube, with mechanical attachments, from which projectiles are shot by the force of an explosive; a piece of ordnance.

any portable firearm, as a rifle, shotgun, or revolver.

a long-barreled cannon having a relatively flat trajectory.

any device for shooting something under pressure: a paint gun; a staple gun.

Slang. a person whose profession is killing; professional killer: a gangland gun.

British. a member of a shooting party.

electron gun.

Slang.

(esp. in baseball) a player’s throwing arm.
guns, the biceps or triceps of the arms: his big, muscular guns.

verb (used with object), gunned, gun·ning.

to shoot with a gun (often followed by down): The guards gunned down the fleeing convict.

to cause (an engine, vehicle, aircraft, etc.) to increase in speed very quickly by increasing the supply of fuel.

verb (used without object), gunned, gun·ning.

to hunt with a gun.

to shoot with a gun.

Verb Phrases

gun for,

to seek with intent to harm or kill.
to seek; try earnestly to obtain: He is gunning for a raise.

Nearby words

Idioms

give the gun, Slang. to put into motion or speed up: We gave the motor the gun and drove off.

jump the gun, Slang.

to begin a race before the starting signal.
to begin prematurely; act too hastily.

spike someone's guns, to frustrate or prevent someone from accomplishing a plan: Our competitors planned a surprise reduction in their rates, but we discovered it and were able to spike their guns.

stick to one's guns, to maintain one's position in the face of opposition; stand firm: They stuck to their guns and refused to submit.Also stand by one's guns.

under the gun, under pressure, as to meet a deadline or solve a problem: We're all under the gun with these new sales quotas.

Origin of gun

1300–50; Middle English gunne, gonne, apparently short for Anglo-Latin Gunilda, gonnyld, name for engine of war; compare Old Norse Gunna, short for Gunnhildr woman's name

Related formsgun·less, adjective

Definition for gun (2 of 6)

gun

[ guhn ]

/ gʌn /

verb

past participle of gin³.

Definition for gun (3 of 6)

gin

[ jin ]

/ dʒɪn /

noun

cotton gin.

a trap or snare for game.

any of various machines employing simple tackle or windlass mechanisms for hoisting.

a stationary prime mover having a drive shaft rotated by horizontal beams pulled by horses walking in a circle.

verb (used with object), ginned, gin·ning.

to clear (cotton) of seeds with a gin.

to snare (game).

Origin of gin

1150–1200; Middle English gyn, aphetic variant of Old French engin engine

Related formsgin·ner, noun

Definition for gun (4 of 6)

gin

[ gin ]

/ gɪn /

verb (used with or without object), gan, gun, gin·ning. Archaic.

to begin.

Origin of gin

1150–1200; Middle English ginnen, Old English ginnan, aphetic variant of onginnan, beginnen to begin

Definition for gun (5 of 6)

gin

⁴

[ jin ]

/ dʒɪn /

Cards.

noun

Also called gin rummy. a variety of rummy for two players, in which a player with 10 or fewer points in unmatched cards can end the game by laying down the hand.

the winning of such a game by laying down a full set of matched cards, earning the winner a bonus of 20 or 25 points.

verb (used without object), ginned, gin·ning.

to win a game in gin by laying down a hand in which all 10 cards are included in sets.

Origin of gin

⁴

First recorded in 1955–60; perhaps special use of gin¹

Definition for gun (6 of 6)

gun.

gunnery.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gun

“You can imagine the sound of that gun on a Bronx street,” Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce says.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That act forever sealed his feeling for the Chief, bound it up with the war, with violence, with the gun.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I mean, the reality of it was, I had to go out and get on a horse, and ride in, shoot the gun — how hard was that, right?
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Frias—who was arrested in 2013 for interfering with public duties and public intoxication—was not carrying a gun at the time.
Texas Gun Slingers Police the Police—With a Black Panthers Tactic|Brandy Zadrozny|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Yes, the gun: “While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise, and independence to the mind.”
Forget the Resolutions; Try a Few Declarations|Kevin Bleyer|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Intently from his screened post of observation, he watched the gun barrel.
Tom Fairfield in Camp|Allen Chapman
The magazines were kept open, and every gun, big and little, stood ready to be fired at the word of command.
Fighting in Cuban Waters|Edward Stratemeyer
His first act was to fire the right barrel of his gun in the air, and at the same time give vent to a shout.
Darry the Life Saver|Frank V. Webster
At one time the Mosque was deserted by all except one machine-gun officer, who continued to work his gun single-handed.
With the British Army in The Holy Land|Henry Osmond Lock
He had nicknamed the gun “Ezekiel” after an eccentric old hunter he had known in his home town in Iowa.
Agent Nine and the Jewel Mystery|Graham M. Dean

British Dictionary definitions for gun (1 of 6)

gun

/ (ɡʌn) /

noun

a weapon with a metallic tube or barrel from which a missile is discharged, usually by force of an explosion. It may be portable or mounted. In a military context the term applies specifically to a flat-trajectory artillery piece
(as modifier)a gun barrel

the firing of a gun as a salute or signal, as in military ceremonial

a member of or a place in a shooting party or syndicate

any device used to project something under pressurea grease gun; a spray gun

US slang an armed criminal; gunman

Australian and NZ slang

an expert
(as modifier)a gun shearer; a gun batsman

go great guns slang to act or function with great speed, intensity, etc

jump the gun or beat the gun

(of a runner, etc) to set off before the starting signal is given
informal to act prematurely

spike someone's guns See spike 1 (def. 15)

stick to one's guns informal to maintain one's opinions or intentions in spite of opposition

verb guns, gunning or gunned

(when tr, often foll by down) to shoot (someone) with a gun

(tr) to press hard on the accelerator of (an engine)to gun the engine of a car

(intr) to hunt with a gun

Word Origin for gun

C14: probably from a female pet name shortened from the Scandinavian name Gunnhildr (from Old Norse gunnr war + hildr war)

British Dictionary definitions for gun (2 of 6)

gin

/ (dʒɪn) /

noun

an alcoholic drink obtained by distillation and rectification of the grain of malted barley, rye, or maize, flavoured with juniper berries

any of various grain spirits flavoured with other fruit or aromatic essencessloe gin

an alcoholic drink made from any rectified spirit

Word Origin for gin

C18: shortened from Dutch genever juniper, via Old French from Latin jūniperus juniper

British Dictionary definitions for gun (3 of 6)

gin

/ (dʒɪn) /

noun

a primitive engine in which a vertical shaft is turned by horses driving a horizontal beam or yoke in a circle

Also called: cotton gin a machine of this type used for separating seeds from raw cotton

a trap for catching small mammals, consisting of a noose of thin strong wire

a hand-operated hoist that consists of a drum winder turned by a crank

verb gins, ginning or ginned (tr)

to free (cotton) of seeds with a gin

to trap or snare (game) with a gin

Derived Formsginner, noun

Word Origin for gin

C13 gyn, shortened from engine

British Dictionary definitions for gun (4 of 6)

gin

/ (ɡɪn) /

verb gins, ginning, gan or gun

an archaic word for begin

British Dictionary definitions for gun (5 of 6)

gin

⁴

/ (ɡɪn) /

conjunction

Scot if

Word Origin for gin

perhaps related to gif, an earlier form of if

British Dictionary definitions for gun (6 of 6)

gin

⁵

/ (dʒɪn) /

noun

Australian offensive, slang an Aboriginal woman

Word Origin for gin

C19: from a native Australian language

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

Word Origin and History for gun (1 of 6)

gun

mid-14c., gunne "an engine of war that throws rocks, arrows or other missiles," probably a shortening of woman's name Gunilda, found in Middle English gonnilde "cannon" and in an Anglo-Latin reference to a specific gun from a 1330 munitions inventory of Windsor Castle ("...una magna balista de cornu quae Domina Gunilda ..."), from Old Norse Gunnhildr, woman's name, from gunnr + hildr, both meaning "war, battle." First element from PIE *gwhen- "to strike, kill" (see bane); for second, cf. Hilda.

The identification of women with powerful weapons is common historically (cf. Big Bertha, Brown Bess, Mons Meg, etc.); meaning shifted with technology, from cannons to firearms as they developed 15c. Great guns (cannon, etc.) distinguished from small guns (such as muskets) from c.1400. Applied to pistols and revolvers after 1744. Meaning "thief, rascal" is from 1858. Son of a gun is originally nautical. To jump the gun (1912, American English) is from track and field. Guns "a woman's breasts" (especially if prominent) attested by 2006.

Word Origin and History for gun (1 of 6)

gun

"to shoot with a gun," 1620s, from gun (n.); the sense of "to accelerate an engine" is from 1930, from earlier phrase to give (something) the gun. Related: Gunned; gunning.

Word Origin and History for gun (2 of 6)

gin

v.1

in slang phrase gin up "enliven, make more exciting," 1887, probably from earlier ginger up in same sense (1849), from ginger in sense of "spice, pizzazz;" specifically in reference to the treatment described in the 1811 slang dictionary under the entry for feague:

... to put ginger up a horse's fundament, and formerly, as it is said, a live eel, to make him lively and carry his tail well; it is said, a forfeit is incurred by any horse-dealer's servant, who shall shew a horse without first feaguing him. Feague is used, figuratively, for encouraging or spiriting one up.

Word Origin and History for gun (3 of 6)

gin

v.2

"to begin," c.1200, ginnen, shortened form of beginnen (see begin).

Word Origin and History for gun (4 of 6)

gin

n.1

"type of distilled drinking alcohol," 1714, shortening of geneva, altered (by influence of the similarity of the name of the Swiss city, with which it has no other connection) from Dutch genever "juniper" (because the alcohol was flavored with its berries), from Old French genevre, from Vulgar Latin *jeniperus, from Latin juniperus "juniper" (see juniper). Gin and tonic attested by 1873; gin-sling by 1790. Card game gin rummy first attested 1941 (described in "Life" that year as the latest Hollywood fad).

Word Origin and History for gun (5 of 6)

gin

n.2

"machine for separating cotton from seeds," 1796, American English, used earlier of various other machineries, from Middle English gin "ingenious device, contrivance" (c.1200), from Old French gin "machine, device, scheme," shortened form of engin, from Latin ingenium (see engine). The verb in this sense is recorded from 1789.

Idioms and Phrases with gun

gun

In addition to the idiom beginning with gun

gun for
gung ho

also see:

at gunpoint
big cheese (gun)
great guns
hired gun
hold a gun to someone's head
jump the gun
smoking gun
son of a bitch (gun)
stick to one's guns
under the gun

gun

noun

verb (used with object), gunned, gun·ning.

verb (used without object), gunned, gun·ning.

Verb Phrases

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of gun

Definition for gun (2 of 6)

gun

verb

Definition for gun (3 of 6)

gin

noun

verb (used with object), ginned, gin·ning.

Origin of gin

Definition for gun (4 of 6)

gin

verb (used with or without object), gan, gun, gin·ning. Archaic.

Origin of gin

Definition for gun (5 of 6)

gin

noun

verb (used without object), ginned, gin·ning.

Origin of gin

Definition for gun (6 of 6)

gun.

Examples from the Web for gun

British Dictionary definitions for gun (1 of 6)

gun

noun

verb guns, gunning or gunned

Word Origin for gun

British Dictionary definitions for gun (2 of 6)

gin

noun

Word Origin for gin

British Dictionary definitions for gun (3 of 6)

gin

noun

verb gins, ginning or ginned (tr)

Word Origin for gin

British Dictionary definitions for gun (4 of 6)

gin

verb gins, ginning, gan or gun

British Dictionary definitions for gun (5 of 6)

gin

conjunction

Word Origin for gin

British Dictionary definitions for gun (6 of 6)

gin

noun

Word Origin for gin

Word Origin and History for gun (1 of 6)

gun

Word Origin and History for gun (1 of 6)

gun

Word Origin and History for gun (2 of 6)

gin

Word Origin and History for gun (3 of 6)

gin

Word Origin and History for gun (4 of 6)

gin

Word Origin and History for gun (5 of 6)

gin

Idioms and Phrases with gun

gun