gunshot

[guhn-shot]

noun

the shooting of a gun: We heard three gunshots.
a bullet, projectile, or other shot fired from a gun.
the range of a gun: The bear was out of gunshot.

adjective

made by a gunshot.

Origin of gunshot

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at gun¹, shot¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for gunshot

Contemporary Examples

Seven years later, he was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the head in what was ruled a suicide.
Jeremy Renner Opens Up About Marriage, His Problems with the Media, and the Future of Hawk-Eye
Marlow Stern
September 29, 2014
A wooden chair whizzed past my left ear and smashed into the steel door like a gunshot.
Inside a Hospital for the Criminally Insane
Caitlin Dickson
September 15, 2014
It took a gunshot, however, to make the story public property.
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man
John Lardner
May 17, 2014
Two Reuters journalists at the scene reported seeing two dead bodies, one with gunshot wounds to the head.
Deadly Shootout in Ukraine Raises Fears of Russian Invasion
Jamie Dettmer
April 20, 2014
The trial in humans will locate patients whose hearts have stopped after a gunshot wound or other injury.
New 'Suspended Animation' Procedure Saves Lives by Replacing Blood with a Cold Electrolyte Solution
Elizabeth Lopatto
April 2, 2014

Historical Examples

He ran the harder, and in a few seconds would have been out of gunshot.
Barnaby Rudge
Charles Dickens
He had been taught that an animal should not bleed to death through a gunshot wound.
The Boy Settlers
Noah Brooks
He was badly hacked, and from a gunshot wound in the vitals he was bleeding to death.
The Pirate of Panama
William MacLeod Raine
But the animals are cunning and seldom expose themselves to gunshot.
From Pole to Pole
Sven Anders Hedin
Only once we heard a gunshot a great way off, and supposed them to be hunting.
Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for gunshot

gunshot

noun

1. shot fired from a gun
2. (as modifier)gunshot wounds
the range of a gun
the shooting of a gun

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

Word Origin and History for gunshot

n.

early 15c., "shot fired from a gun," from gun (n.) + shot (n.). Meaning "range of a gun or cannon" is from 1530s.

gunshot

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Examples from the Web for gunshot

Contemporary Examples

Seven years later, he was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the head in what was ruled a suicide.

A wooden chair whizzed past my left ear and smashed into the steel door like a gunshot.

It took a gunshot, however, to make the story public property.

Two Reuters journalists at the scene reported seeing two dead bodies, one with gunshot wounds to the head.

The trial in humans will locate patients whose hearts have stopped after a gunshot wound or other injury.

Historical Examples

He ran the harder, and in a few seconds would have been out of gunshot.

He had been taught that an animal should not bleed to death through a gunshot wound.

He was badly hacked, and from a gunshot wound in the vitals he was bleeding to death.

But the animals are cunning and seldom expose themselves to gunshot.

Only once we heard a gunshot a great way off, and supposed them to be hunting.

gunshot

Word Origin and History for gunshot

n.

Origin of gunshot