pump-action

[ puhmp-ak-shuhn ]

adjective
  1. (of a shotgun or rifle) having an action that extracts the empty case, loads, and cocks the piece by means of a hand-operated lever that slides backward and forward; slide-action.

Origin of pump-action

1
An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

Words Nearby pump-action

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

How to use pump-action in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pump-action

pump-action

adjective
  1. (of a shotgun or other repeating firearm) operated by a slide-action mechanism feeding ammunition from a magazine under the barrel into the breech

  2. spraying or dispensing liquid by means of a pump rather than using a propellant

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