handgun

[hand-guhn]

noun

1. any firearm that can be held and fired with one hand; a revolver or a pistol.

handgun

/ ˈhændˌɡʌn /

noun

1. a firearm that can be held, carried, and fired with one hand, such as a pistol

Word History and Origins

Origin of handgun¹

First recorded in 1400–50, handgun is from the late Middle English word handgone. See hand, gun ¹

Example Sentences

Staff had kicked Hodgson out, reporting he drunkenly wandered into the women’s restroom while armed with a handgun.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Brown is accused of taking a handgun from a security staff member outside a May 16 event in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood and firing two shots at another man.

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The lawsuit stated that the student was armed with a 9mm handgun, legally purchased by his mother, when she dropped him off at school on the day of the shooting.

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Police said the man possessed an unlicensed handgun and copies of U.S.

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The revision came after media reports said handguns issued to regular Japanese police are of limited use against bears because the weapons are not powerful enough to kill them.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• cannon 
• hardware 
• mortar 
• piece 
• pistol 
• revolver 
• rifle 
• shotgun