pistol
[ pis-tl ]
/ ˈpɪs tl /
noun
a short firearm intended to be held and fired with one hand.
verb (used with object), pis·toled, pis·tol·ing or (especially British) pis·tolled, pis·tol·ling.
to shoot with a pistol.
QUIZZES
TAKE THIS QUIZ TO SEE WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL PUNCTUATION!
Commas mark divisions in sentences. Periods end declarative sentences. Apostrophes show possession. Easy, right? Well, punctuation can get pretty tricky—fast. Think you got what it takes to be a punctuation expert? Take our quiz to prove it!
Question 1 of 10
Which of the options below is the best punctuation for the sentence? It__s your turn to pick the movie __ but your sister gets to pick the board game we _ re going to play.
Its your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.
It’s your turn to pick the movie but your sister gets to pick the board game were going to play.
It’s your turn to pick the movie, but your sister gets to pick the board game we’re going to play.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUTOrigin of pistol
1560–70; < Middle French pistole < German, earlier pitschal, pitschole, petsole < Czech píšt’ala literally, pipe, fife, whistle (presumably a slang term for a type of light harquebus employed during the Hussite wars), akin to pištět to squeak, peep
OTHER WORDS FROM pistol
pis·tol·like, adjectiveWords nearby pistol
pistareen, piste, pistil, pistillate, pistoia, pistol, pistol grip, pistol-handle knife, pistol-whip, pistole, pistoleer
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for pistol
British Dictionary definitions for pistol
pistol
/ (ˈpɪstəl) /
noun
a short-barrelled handgun
hold a pistol to a person's head to threaten a person in order to force him to do what one wants
verb -tols, -tolling or -tolled or US -tols, -toling or -toled
(tr) to shoot with a pistol
Word Origin for pistol
C16: from French pistole, from German, from Czech pišt'ala pistol, pipe; related to Russian pischal shepherd's pipes
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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