spear gun

American

noun

a device for shooting a barbed missile under water, usually by means of gas under pressure, a strong rubber band, or a powerful spring.

spear gun British

noun

a device for shooting spears underwater

"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

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.

“Murina,” an impressively tense, psychologically astute drama from Croatia, opens with a glimpse of Chekhov’s spear gun, a device not uncommon in tales of underwater peril.

From Los Angeles Times

Wearing a snorkeling mask, and with a spear gun in one hand, she glides through the water, her strong body propelling her forward.

From New York Times

As an adult I took up interests in marine biology and underwater photography, ultimately trading the spear gun of my childhood for my first professional underwater camera.

From New York Times

"After they operated on me, they tortured me and untied the stitches with a spear gun."

From Reuters

He allegedly shot them in the chest with the spear gun.

From Fox News

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