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Synonyms

zip gun

American  

noun

  1. a homemade pistol, typically consisting of a metal tube taped to a wooden stock and firing a .22-caliber bullet.

zip gun British  

noun

  1. slang a crude homemade pistol, esp one powered by a spring or rubber band

"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

Etymology

Origin of zip gun

First recorded in 1945–50

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.

Also found was a zip gun made of steel pipe and a 12-gauge shotgun round.

From Washington Times

Also found was a “zip gun” made of a steel pipe with a spring-loaded cap and containing a 12-gauge shotgun shell, the office said.

From Washington Times

A pipe bomb and zip gun loaded with a 12-gauge shotgun shell were discovered in front of an elementary school Tuesday morning just as children were about to arrive, according to the county sheriff’s office.

From Fox News

“I never held anyone up, but I once got hit in the thigh with a zip gun. It was only a matter of time before things got really bad.”

From Seattle Times

According to his book, Freddy was 2½ when his mother, Jacqueline Stearns, was charged with manslaughter after a zip gun in her hand went off at a party, killing another woman.

From New York Times

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.