shooting iron

American

noun

Informal.

a firearm, especially a pistol or revolver.

shooting iron British

noun

slang a firearm, esp a pistol

"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 shooting iron

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

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.

He walked again to Idaho Springs with no ration book save his shooting iron.

From Time Magazine Archive

A stark, crude, unlovely shooting iron, the M-3 is nevertheless rugged, light and easy to massproduce.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Put up your shooting iron, Mr. Melville," said Col.

From Do and Dare — a Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune by Alger, Horatio

But the favorite amusement was shooting iron ramrods.

From In The Ranks From the Wilderness to Appomattox Court House by McBride, R. E.

"I'll give you some of the plunder, if you'll put up that shooting iron, and make no trouble."

From Try and Trust by Alger, Horatio

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