noun
-
the firing of one or more guns, esp when done repeatedly
-
the use of firearms, as contrasted with other military tactics
Etymology
Origin of gunfire
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.
On Feb. 24, 1525, the age of chivalry came to a symbolic end amid smoke and gunfire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
A series of military exercises taking place in empty buildings across the Southland are scaring residents and rattling neighbors as the sound of gunfire rings out in the dark and troops descend from helicopters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
The fugitive senator remains inside the building, said Remulla, who arrived on the scene minutes after the gunfire.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
Jacqueline Butler, youngest child of father-of-six Patrick Butler, told the inquest her father had gone into the estate to offer help to those wounded after the gunfire broke out.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Nine fearsome, ugly, half-naked, fifty-feet-long brutes lay sprawled over the ground in various grotesque attitudes of sleep, and the sound of their snoring was indeed like gunfire in a battle.
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
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.
