minute gun

[ min-it ]

noun

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

Origin of minute gun

First recorded in 1720–30

Words Nearby minute gun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use minute gun in a sentence

It was a minute-gun, fired by the Americans in honour of their fallen foe, the gallant dead.
Elsie Yachting with the Raymonds | Martha Finley
His questions had come in gasps, like short breakers out of a rising sea; her answers had fallen like the minute-gun above it.
The Manxman | Hall Caine
All yesterday the minute-gun was booming through the fog to warn ships off the rocks—such a strangely solemn sound.
Story of My Life, volumes 1-3 | Augustus J. C. Hare

British Dictionary definitions for minute gun

minute gun

/ (ˈmɪnɪt) /

noun

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

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