gun
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.
gun
1 American
[guhn]
/ gʌn /
noun
-
guns
plural
-
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.
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any portable firearm, such as a rifle, shotgun, or revolver.
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a long-barreled cannon having a relatively flat trajectory.
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any device for shooting something under pressure.
I always thin the paint a bit before using it in a paint gun.
With a staple gun, you could put up these posters a lot faster.
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any of various handheld devices used as a dispenser or applicator.
We need to put a new roll of tape on the tape gun.
Be careful when handling the glue gun, as it has to be quite hot to melt the glue sticks.
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Slang. a person whose profession is killing; professional killer.
They got a hired gun to take out the rival drug dealer.
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British. a member of a group of people hunting pheasants or other game birds.
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Slang.
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(especially in baseball) a player’s throwing arm.
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guns, the biceps or triceps of the arms.
After the workout he took a selfie, flexing his impressive guns.
-
verb (used with object)
gunned,
gunning
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to shoot with a gun (often followed bydown ).
The fighter pilot gunned down three enemy aircraft even after his own plane was damaged.
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to cause (an engine, vehicle, aircraft, etc.) to increase in speed very quickly by increasing the supply of fuel.
Don’t gun the engine before it warms up, especially on a cold day.
verb (used without object)
gunned,
gunning
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to hunt with a gun.
He was out gunning in the woods when he came across somebody else’s traps.
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to shoot with a gun.
I spent the afternoon gunning at the range with friends from my gun club.
verb phrase
idioms
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jump the gun,
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to begin a race before the starting signal.
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to begin prematurely; act too hastily.
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come out gunning, to enter or engage in a contest, debate, negotiation, etc., with an aggressive attitude.
The councilor has come out gunning on the crime issue ever since his own car was broken into.
We were psyched up for this game and came out gunning, straight to a 6–2 lead.
-
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.
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give the gun, to put into motion or speed up.
The pilot gave the engine the gun and managed to take off on the short airstrip.
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stick to one's guns, to maintain one's position in the face of opposition; stand firm: Also stand by one's guns.
They stuck to their guns and refused to submit.
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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.
gun
2
American
[guhn]
/ gʌn /
verb
gun.
3
American
abbreviation
gun
British
/ 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
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( as modifier )
a gun barrel
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the firing of a gun as a salute or signal, as in military ceremonial
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a member of or a place in a shooting party or syndicate
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any device used to project something under pressure
a grease gun
a spray gun
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slang an armed criminal; gunman
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slang
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an expert
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( as modifier )
a gun shearer
a gun batsman
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slang to act or function with great speed, intensity, etc
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(of a runner, etc) to set off before the starting signal is given
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informal to act prematurely
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See spike 1
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informal to maintain one's opinions or intentions in spite of opposition
verb
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to shoot (someone) with a gun
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(tr) to press hard on the accelerator of (an engine)
to gun the engine of a car
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(intr) to hunt with a gun
gun
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gun
First recorded in 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, female name
Explanation
A gun is a hand-held weapon that fires bullets or shells. A hunter's gun looks very different from the gun carried in a holster by a police officer.Guns come in all shapes and sizes, but they are all dangerous weapons. Most guns are designed to kill or injure, whether when hunting animals or used for self-defense. There are also starting guns, which make a loud noise to mark the start of a race; squirt guns, which fire streams of water; and paintball guns, used to shoot paint pellets during a paintball game. A so-called "hired gun" is a professional who's paid for their particular abilities. "Son of a gun" is an informal, fond way to refer to someone.
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 man who initially fired the gun was wearing a long white shirt as well as military fatigue trousers and boots, which are commonly worn by soldiers, Wessels said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
The author was his own myth-maker, claiming that, as a boy, he never left home without a gun.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
In one clip, a police officer can be seen finding a gun magazine in a backpack belonging to Mangione.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
And so at the Humanoid Games, when one robot sprinter reacted to the starting gun by sitting down, then lying on its back and gazing at the sky, viewers saw a fellow casualty of burnout.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
His knees are slightly bent, and both hands are on his gun.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
He claimed that, as a boy, “I never left the house without a gun. Later on, I made my own rifles.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“I’ve been to a protest. Guess what? I didn’t bring a gun. I brought a billboard,” Bessent said.
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2026
"We cannot fight the security, because they have a gun. We only have the flag," he said.
From Barron's ● Jan. 11, 2026
"I think this is a pretty big smoking gun. That would be, again, strong evidence that the effective management of the company was not taking place in the BVI," she said.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2025
“Don’t worry, Foaly. I’m still running red hot. And I’ll make up for my age with a really big gun. Now get a pod ready. I’m leaving on the next flare.”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Maduro has denied the charges he originally faced: "narco-terrorism" conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices as well as conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Bear-hunting permits across eight provinces have been issued and officials are seeking to obtain tranquiliser dart guns to support rangers in rural areas, AFP reports.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Geely also plans to expand the charging network to more than 22,000 stations and 100,000 charging guns by the end of 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Authorities had also recovered a mixture of DNA from more than one person on the stolen guns themselves.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Oh, he was first in line for the victory parades, as soon as the guns were put away.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
And Hoy gunned his boat for the day’s first run.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Less than a month before he was gunned down in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave a memorable speech — the last major one of his life — at Amherst College.
From Salon ● Jan. 1, 2026
“I saw an opening and I just gunned it and got out of there,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
Three weeks after Robert Fico was gunned down in central Slovakia, he’s made a full-throated return to political life - on the eve of the European elections.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2024
I gunned the Yamaha over the curb and swerved to a stop at the fountain outside the hotel.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
Texas has been gunning to challenge New York as a hub for finance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Jurors in the highly anticipated murder trial of Luigi Mangione, charged with gunning down a health insurance executive, will receive anonymity, a judge said on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
This was the only World Cup match where Hernandez said he was not gunning for a decisive Mexico victory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Less than 10 years ago, Kelly, then a Fox News anchor, was gunning for a career in mainstream media.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
Winning jockeys are daring jockeys, capable of gunning a horse through the narrowest hole with damn-the- torpedoes bravado.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
