hammerless

American

[ham-er-lis] / ˈhæm ər lɪs /

adjective

(of a firearm) having the hammer concealed within the receiver.

hammerless British

/ ˈhæməlɪs /

adjective

(of a firearm) having the hammer enclosed so that it is not visible

"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

Etymology

Origin of hammerless

First recorded in 1870–75; hammer + -less

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 gun taken to the Las Vegas museum, an Iver Johnson Safety Hammerless, also belonged to Capone but had a different back-story.

From The Wall Street Journal

A hammerless ejector game gun that has been in continuous production since 1880, it’s a graceful work of art.

From Forbes

Perhaps this is an argument in favour of a hammerless gun!

From Project Gutenberg

A very important improvement was the introduction of the hammerless gun, in which the mechanism for firing is placed entirely within the gun.

From Project Gutenberg

In 1871 T. Murcott patented a hammerless gun, the first to obtain distinct success.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023