gunslinger
Americannoun
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Informal. gunfighter.
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Slang. a person who acts in an aggressive and decisive manner, especially in business or politics, as an investor who takes large risks in seeking large, quick gains.
noun
Other Word Forms
- gunslinging adjective
Etymology
Origin of gunslinger
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.
Oil boss Scott Sheffield has a new job: activist gunslinger.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
Set in 1872, Forsaken, focuses on embittered gunslinger John Henry Clayton's return to his hometown and his attempts to build bridges with his estranged father.
From BBC • Dec. 29, 2024
Imagine: a sprawling, expensive adaptation of a beloved videogame franchise that features an unlikely duo — a nihilistic old gunslinger with a tortured past and a tough young woman whose mission overlaps with his.
From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2024
But sometimes that confidence — that ol’ gunslinger bravado — gets him in trouble.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 23, 2023
She stood there stupidly, staring at them, her arms hanging loose at her sides, like a gunslinger in a Western showdown.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
