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minute gun

American  
[min-it] / ˈmɪn ɪt /

noun

  1. a cannon fired at intervals of a minute, especially as a signal of distress or in a military funeral ceremony.


minute gun British  
/ ˈmɪnɪt /

noun

  1. a gun fired at one-minute intervals as a sign of distress or mourning

"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 minute gun

First recorded in 1720–30

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:

Philip’s coffin was borne to the chapel on a bespoke Defender TD 130 in military green as a minute gun fired eight times.

From Reuters Apr. 16, 2021

There was never any further question, by the way, about that minute gun at sea; it stayed at sea as far as we were concerned.

From Solomon by Constance Fenimore Woolson

Every one was about retiring for rest, when boom boom! from out of the darkness seaward came the roar of a minute gun.

From Aileen Aroon, A Memoir With other Tales of Faithful Friends and Favourites by Gordon Stables

Now and again an unfastened door swung open and shut again, with a bang like a minute gun.

From The Visionary Pictures From Nordland by Jessie Muir

The shadows closed upon us, a mist rose, flooding over us, and far off the cold split a tree asunder with loud report as of some minute gun.

From A Man in the Open by Roger Pocock

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