stun gun
Americannoun
-
a battery-powered, handheld weapon that fires an electric charge when held against a person and activated by a trigger or button, used, especially by police, to immobilize a person briefly and without injury.
-
any of various handheld weapons that shoot small pellet-filled bags, tranquilizer darts, darts attached to electric wires, or the like to immobilize a person or animal briefly and without injury.
noun
Etymology
Origin of stun gun
First recorded in 1965–70
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.
Former Metropolitan police officer Michael Fanone, who suffered a heart attack on Jan. 6, 2021 after being shot with a stun gun by a rioter, felt betrayed by the DOJ’s reversal.
From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2026
Carbyne was bought by Taser stun gun maker Axon for $625 million in November 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
Mr Amaaz also told the court that, at one point, he saw PC Ellie Cook pointing what he thought was a gun at his brother without realising it was actually an electronic stun gun.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2025
He told the Los Angeles Times that deputies could have instead used a stun gun or pepper spray to deescalate the situation.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 30, 2023
Chief, you go with them and secure everything, then take that stun gun back to ordnance.”
From Unwise Child by Garrett, Randall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
