handgun
Americannoun
-
handguns
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of handgun
First recorded in 1400–50, handgun is from the late Middle English word handgone. See hand, gun 1
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.
See Examples For:
California’s Assembly Bill 1127 does not explicitly name the Glock brand, but instead targets any handgun with a specific mechanism that can easily be converted by a black market device.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Marx claims to be the world’s fastest gun disarmer, a skill that seems to require an assailant to stick a handgun directly in your face rather than shoot you from a few feet away.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
The matchlock wasn’t the only kind of handgun in use.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
In May, the judge decided to exclude certain items of evidence, including a handgun magazine, a phone and a wallet, after Mangione's lawyers argued an initial police search breached procedure.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
His handgun is black; it seems to draw all the light in the room toward it.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
After a tipoff, intelligence services and police found two handguns and ammunition stashed in a hideout in the forest, Dobrindt said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
The first - from the start of November - covers types of handguns, shotguns and rifles.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Public support for a total ban on handguns in the home had plummeted.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
As Ms. Fletcher emphasizes, handguns were increasingly associated with one specific crime—the assassination of high-profile statesmen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
To the left, officers are lined up, waiting to deposit their handguns at the outside window of the Arsenal.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
