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Synonyms

gunner

American  
[guhn-er] / ˈgʌn ər /

noun

  1. a person who operates a gun or cannon.

  2. Army. an occupational title in the artillery.

  3. Navy. a person skilled in handling ammunition and gunnery equipment.

  4. Marine Corps. a warrant officer who may be given any one of a number of assignments.

  5. British.

    1. Military. a private in the artillery.

    2. Informal. any officer or enlisted person assigned to the artillery.

  6. a person who hunts with a gun.

gunner British  
/ ˈɡʌnə /

noun

  1. a serviceman who works with, uses, or specializes in guns

  2. navy (formerly) a warrant officer responsible for the training of gun crews, their performance in action, and accounting for ammunition

  3.  gnr.  (in the British Army) an artilleryman, esp a private

  4. a person who hunts with a rifle or shotgun

"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

Other Word Forms

  • gunnership noun
  • undergunner noun

Etymology

Origin of gunner

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; gun 1, -er 1

Vocabulary lists containing gunner

"The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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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.

"The others had half wings – one was an observer and the other a rear gunner."

From BBC • May 5, 2025

The family's journey through the past began when former gunner Percy, from Pimlico in central London, shared his story of landing on Sword Beach with the 7th Armoured Division of the British Army.

From BBC • Nov. 9, 2024

Although more accustomed to playing out wide as a gunner, he didn’t blink at lining up at a position more often occupied by bigger linebackers, or sometimes even linemen.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2024

The gunner survived and is now recovering, Lawyer said a few days later.

From New York Times • May 14, 2024

And the small, slight tail gunner was lying on the floor beside Snowden in a dead faint, his face as white as a handkerchief, so that Yossarian sprang forward with revulsion to help him first.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

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.