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:
Only one, she says, has ever declined to have his project featured: “He was in the strip-club business, and he had secret rooms and gun rooms.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Julie said that having the support of fellow parents who had also lost children to gun crime had really helped her, adding "we help each other loads".
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Moss said he has been a “leader on some of these consequential fights in Michigan, from gun safety to voting rights—lent me a lot of credibility as somebody who took on progressive issues.”
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
That was "the market firing a flare gun over China's next speculative frontier", said Stephen Innes, global strategist at Quintex Intel.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Nhamo told her about the man with the dogs and gun.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
“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
“Right now it’s seems to me we’re trying to jump the gun. We’re trying to explain why he’s not here without making any effort to get him here,” Merchan said.
From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2024
“This is the makeup splat gun. You pour a small amount of foundation in the end like so,” she said, letting Brittani demonstrate.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
But while all these chains rush to roll out more seasonal offerings and limited-edition menu items, Raising Cane’s is sticking to its guns.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Also like many vets, he loves guns, and is excited, post-recovery, to “go hog hunting.”
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
Hours later, the Philippines' customs department issued a statement saying it had ordered the "preventative suspension" of an agent who owned the guns "allegedly used by the student involved".
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
About 30 million Americans are barred from owning guns because of their criminal convictions, according to the department.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Field guns had a range of up to five miles and could fire twenty rounds a minute.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
And Hoy gunned his boat for the day’s first run.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Later that day, ICE agents operating in Minneapolis couldn’t successfully execute an operation in a neighborhood less than a mile from where George Floyd was gunned down six years ago.
From Salon ● Jan. 9, 2026
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
Catcher Will Smith gunned down Perdomo attempting to steal second to end the fourth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2023
The driver shifted gears and gunned the engine as I crouched down in the backseat.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Bermúdez, the effusive mood-lifter of the group, was gunning for a career as a soloist when he entered the ring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 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
But Americans are gunning for more protein, not necessarily more cheese.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
The congressional seat Galindo is gunning for represents TX-35, a newly redrawn district that encompasses part of the San Antonio metro area and a slice of rural Texas to the south and east.
From Slate ● May 22, 2026
As she walked the length of Cook’s trap line she saw an occasional gunning skiff, heard the wild free crying of the water birds, watched them fly up, wings spread wide.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
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.
