noun
-
the art and science of the efficient design and use of ordnance, esp artillery
-
guns collectively
-
the use and firing of guns
-
(modifier) of, relating to, or concerned with heavy guns, as in warfare
a gunnery officer
Etymology
Origin of gunnery
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.
Prior to opening fire, the BBC was also told that the Russian warship informed the Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel, HMS Tyne, of its intention to conduct gunnery activity.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Matt served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as an infantry squad leader and gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps.
From Slate ● Apr. 1, 2026
Instead, the Admiralty fed information about their system to a naval officer named Frederick Dreyer, who was a capable gunnery officer but not the great inventor he fancied himself to be.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
It included a live-fire gunnery exercise conducted by the guided missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
Unbelievably, the Mary Rose’s gunnery crew had failed to obey an order to close the gunports after the ship had begun to list.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
