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:
Trairong Piwpan, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Police, said the suspected shooter had found his grandfather’s 9mm handgun along with ammunition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
It seems fair to say that the average American who wants to keep a handgun at home did not sign up for unpermitted open carry of an AR-15 at the zoo.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
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
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
Pascal had a kilo of sugar cane and a defunct World War II handgun in his backpack.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Public support for a total ban on handguns in the home had plummeted.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
In 2015, he knocked his colleagues’ failure to hear a challenge to a San Francisco rule requiring that handguns be stored in locked containers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Smith & Wesson Brands soared 20% after reporting a higher fourth-quarter profit as demand for new products and handguns surged.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
They also argue that it will make it harder for law enforcement to trace the movement of handguns and solve related crimes.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
There were four of them—all white, all wearing jeans and sweatshirts and baseball caps and bulletproof vests, and all carrying police-issue 9-millimeter semiautomatic handguns.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
