machine gun

¹ American  

noun

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-gunned, machine-gunning

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

• machine gunner noun

Etymology

Origin of machine gun¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Origin of machine-gun²

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

The wind wails impossibly louder, throwing debris against the door like a machine gun.

From Literature

Ukraine built a layered defense using truck-mounted machine guns, drone interceptors, and electronic jamming against Russian drones.

From The Wall Street Journal

Olsen: But I have to ask, what is your interpretation of the floating machine gun?

From Los Angeles Times

A cynic might say the same logic could be used to justify the sale of machine guns to children.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Vahid Online Telegram channel shared two photographs of a black pickup truck with a machine gun mounted in the back in Tehran's Sadeghiyeh Square on the night of 8 January.

From BBC

Related Words

• submachine gun