trigger-happy
adjective
ready to fire a gun at the least provocation, regardless of the situation or probable consequences.
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trigger happy
trigger happyInclined to act violently at the slightest provocation, as in They feared that the President was trigger happy and would send in troops at the drop of a hat. This expression alludes to being too eager to fire a gun. [c. 1940]
trigger-happy
American
[trig-er-hap-ee]
/ ˈtrɪg ərˌhæp i /
adjective
Informal.
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ready to fire a gun at the least provocation, regardless of the situation or probable consequences.
a trigger-happy hunter.
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heedless and foolhardy in matters of great importance and recklessly advocating action that can result in war.
Some called him a trigger-happy candidate.
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eager to point out the mistakes or shortcomings of others; aggressively or wantonly critical.
He's a trigger-happy editor with a nervous blue pencil.
trigger-happy
British
adjective
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tending to resort to the use of firearms or violence irresponsibly
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tending to act rashly or without due consideration
trigger happy
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of trigger-happy
First recorded in 1940–45
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.
See Examples For:
Many of those stocks soon after clawed back much of their losses, leaving some investors to describe the market as trigger-happy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
Don’t get trigger-happy and sell because of headlines.
From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025
Vance was also, in effect, portraying the American military personnel who sank the boats as trigger-happy, prone to mistake a fishing boat for a drug vessel and feeling guiltless about doing so.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2025
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was portrayed with a melting face and a trigger-happy response to puppy dogs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2025
However, a couple of trigger-happy vedettes let off their carbines at them, yelled, "The Rebs are coming!" and galloped for the schoolhouse.
From Rebel Raider by H. Beam Piper
“Nah ah / Don’t get, don’t get trigger happy with me, Claudine.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
But opponents fear people will become trigger happy and not take other precautions against bears.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 7, 2024
As one veteran of the May and Johnson premierships put it: "Some of the 2019 intake are feeling trigger happy."
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2022
The rest of the league, too, can get trigger happy on draft night with trades.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 20, 2018
They are no more or less likely to be corrupt or trigger happy than anyone else in the MCSO, but that might not be saying much.
From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2013
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.
