water pistol

American  

noun

1. a toy gun that shoots a stream of liquid.

---

water pistol British  

noun

1. Also called (US): water gun.  a toy pistol that squirts a stream of water or other liquid

---

Etymology

Origin of water pistol

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

You are asking me to make a prediction and I don't know which gun I've got - a bazooka or a water pistol.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2024

"I feel like it's a raging fire," she told the board, "and I've got a water pistol."

From Salon • Aug. 11, 2022

Kayoko Takahashi, 53, aimed her toy water pistol at a group of people partaking in a ceremonial carrying of the Olympic torch.

From Fox News • Jul. 9, 2021

Kaestel was armed only with a water pistol at the time.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 2, 2021

Zooey was now gazing abstractedly at an old root-beer stain on the ceiling plaster, which he himself had made nineteen or twenty years earlier, with a water pistol.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger