submachine gun

[suhb-muh-sheen guhn]

noun

1. a lightweight automatic or semiautomatic gun, fired from the shoulder or hip. SMG

Word History and Origins

Origin of submachine gun¹

First recorded in 1915–20; sub- + machine gun

Example Sentences

He admitted he had told the FBI that Pratt had a submachine gun.

From Los Angeles Times

A professor also showed BBC Panorama how he found someone within moments on Telegram who offered to ship an Uzi submachine gun to the UK for £850.

From BBC

Police said they were searching for the two attackers, who they said had exited the vehicle with a submachine gun and fled the scene.

From Seattle Times

The UN fact finding mission said the authorities used shotguns, assault rifles and submachine guns against demonstrators, "thereby committing unlawful and extrajudicial killings."

From BBC

To carry out his plans, Wischhusen compiled an armoury of homemade weapons including pistols, submachine guns and a shotgun, as well as ammunition, bombs, grenades and poison.

From BBC