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• machine gun
  machine gun

  noun

  a small arm operated by a mechanism, able to deliver a rapid and continuous fire of bullets as long as the trigger is pressed.
• machine-gun
  machine-gun

  verb (used with object)

  to shoot at with a machine gun.

machine gun

¹ American  

noun

machine guns plural

1. a small arm operated by a mechanism, able to deliver a rapid and continuous fire of bullets as long as the trigger is pressed.

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machine-gun ² American  

[muh-sheen-guhn] / məˈʃinˌgʌn /

verb (used with object)

machine-guns, present (3rd person singular) machine-gunned, past participle, past machine-gunning present participle

1. to shoot at with a machine gun.

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machine gun British  

noun

1. 1. a rapid-firing automatic gun, usually mounted, from which small-arms ammunition is discharged

   2. ( as modifier )

      machine-gun fire

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verb

1. (tr) to shoot or fire at with a machine gun

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• machine gunner
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• machine guns
  plural

Participles

• machine-gunning
  present
• machine-gunned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• machine-gun
  simple
• machine-guns
  simple
• have machine-gunned
  perfect
• has machine-gunned
  perfect
• am machine-gunning
  progressive
• are machine-gunning
  progressive
• is machine-gunning
  progressive
• have been machine-gunning
  perfect progressive
• has been machine-gunning
  perfect progressive

Past

• machine-gunned
  simple
• had machine-gunned
  perfect
• was machine-gunning
  progressive
• were machine-gunning
  progressive
• had been machine-gunning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will machine-gun
  simple
• will have machine-gunned
  perfect
• will be machine-gunning
  progressive
• will have been machine-gunning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of machine gun¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Origin of machine-gun²

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

He was Sylvester Stallone in the 1986 action movie “Cobra,” toting a machine gun.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

Adds Taylor: “I was running across a field with a machine gun in my hand, running and jumping. I really thought I was Tom Cruise.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025

The Taiwanese boats also have water cannon and a 20-millimetre static machine gun, but are careful to avoid a confrontation that "could lead to unimaginable consequences", Huang said.

From Barron's • Nov. 11, 2025

North Korean Army Lt Gen Ko Jong Chol said Seoul's military used a machine gun to fire more than 10 warning shots towards its soldiers, according to state media.

From BBC • Aug. 23, 2025

Mr. Croker’s dæmon, a green woodpecker, drilled vigorously into a waste piece of pine with a sound like a machine gun.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• submachine gun