Maxim gun

American

noun

an early single-barreled, water-cooled machine gun cocked by the force of its own recoil.

Maxim gun British

/ ˈmæksɪm /

noun

an obsolete water-cooled machine gun having a single barrel and utilizing the recoil force of each shot to maintain automatic fire

"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 Maxim gun

First recorded in 1880–85; after H. S. Maxim

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.

The Maxim gun had been invented by an American living in London and deployed by General Kitchener to devastating effect in colonial wars such as Sudan.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2014

The Maxim gun, invented in 1884, was the world’s first automatic machine gun.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2012

Whatever happens, we have got The Maxim gun and they have not.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hiram P. Maxim, 59, inventor of the Maxim gun silencer, has devised a silencer for aviation motors, which Fairchild Aviation Corp. is testing out.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yes, I can see the muzzle of the deadly Maxim gun that's back of that metal shield.

From The Boy Scouts on Belgian Battlefields by Goldfrap, John Henry

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