Kalashnikov

British

/ ˌkəˈlæʃnɪˌkɒf /

noun

a Russian-made automatic rifle See also AK-47

"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 Kalashnikov

C20: named after Mikhail Kalashnikov (born 1919), its designer

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.

Israeli officials say Hamas still has around 20,000 fighters and about 60,000 Kalashnikov rifles in Gaza.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

Iryna Terekh, the company’s 33-year-old technical director, compares their reliability to that of the Kalashnikov, a trusty rifle lauded for its ruggedness and simplicity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026

In a throwback to the Soviet era, senior students are once again being taught how to use Kalashnikov rifles and hand grenades as part of a course called "The Basics of Safety and Homeland Defence".

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2025

Warming up: A movie star in his native Russia, Borisov portrayed machine-gun inventor Mikhail Kalashnikov in “AK-47” before winning over “Anora” director Sean Baker with his nuanced character work in 2021’s “Compartment No. 6.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2025

We’d been praying for someone to stand up to Fazlullah and his men with their black turbans and Kalashnikov rifles.

From "Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Changed the World" by Malala Yousafzai

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