gunfight

American  

[guhn-fahyt] / ˈgʌnˌfaɪt /

noun

1. a battle between two or more people or groups armed with guns, especially a confrontation between two gunfighters using revolvers in the frontier days of the American West.

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gunfight British  

/ ˈɡʌnˌfaɪt /

noun

1. a fight between persons using firearms

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Other Word Forms

• gunfighter
  noun
• gunfighting
  noun

Etymology

Origin of gunfight

First recorded in 1650–60; gun ¹ + fight

Example Sentences

It was a pre-Thanksgiving afternoon that few Americans could have imagined: U.S. troops defending themselves in a gunfight in the streets of the American capital.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

Too often England have arrived at an Australian gunfight armed only with knives.

From BBC • Sep. 23, 2025

He recalls meeting with Yeltsin and others at 3 a.m., just a few hours after the gunfight at Ostankino.

From Slate • Oct. 9, 2023

The Rutland County, Vermont, deputy, who lives in Glen Falls, New York, was off-duty at the time of the Nov. 20 gunfight in Saratoga Springs.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 29, 2023

Someone must have lost the Xbox gunfight because there's a series of angry groans near the television.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman