Gun

Pronunciation

• enPR: gÅ­n, IPA: /É¡ÊŒn/
• Rhymes: -ÊŒn

Middle English Lady Gunilda which was a huge crossbow that used powerful shot. It later became used for firearms like cannons and muskets. The woman’s name “Gundahild” , cognate to modern Scandinavian Gunhild, means “war" + "battle maid”.

Full definition of gun

Noun

1. A device for projecting a hard object very forcefully; a firearm or cannon.
   Guns were considered improvements of crossbow#Noun
• 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher Chapter 1, They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect.
1. A very portable, short firearm, for hand use, which fires bullets or projectiles, such as a handgun, revolver, pistol, or Derringer.
2. A less portable, long firearm, bullet or projectile firing; a rifle, either manual, automatic or semi-automatic; a flintlock, musket or shotgun.
3. (military) A cannon with relatively long barrel, operating with relatively low angle of fire, and having a high muzzle velocity.JP 1-02. Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, 8 November 2010 (As Amended Through 15 March 2012). Page 142. (Searchable online version)
4. (military) A cannon with a 6-inch/155mm minimum nominal bore diameter and tube length 30 calibers or more. See also: howitzer; mortar.
2. A device operated by a trigger and acting in a manner similar to a firearm.
   There are some guns that are not designed for killing.
1. Any implement designed to fire a projectile from a tube.
   air-pressure pellet gun;  air rifle;  BB gun;  zipgun;  nail gun;  a potato gun
2. A device or tool that projects a substance.
   a squirt gun;  a spray gun;  a grease gun
3. A device or tool that applies something rather than projecting it.
   a rivet gun; a screw gun;  a price-label gun
3. (surfing) A long surfboard designed for surfing big waves (not the same as a longboard, a gun has a pointed nose and is generally a little narrower).
• 2000, Drew Kampion, ''surfline.comby the winter of 1962, the Brewer Surfboards Hawaii gun was the most in-demand big-wave equipment on the North Shore.
4. (cellular automata) A pattern that "fires" out other patterns.
• 2000, Gary William Flake, The computational beauty of natureThe glider gun on the bottom of the NOT circuit emits a continuous stream of gliders, while the data stream source emits a glider only when there is a value of 1 in the stream...
• 2010, Andrew Adamatzky, Game of Life Cellular Automata (page 74)Greene's period-416 2c/5 spaceship gun
5. (colloquial) A man who carries or uses a rifle, shotgun or handgun.
6. (colloquial, usually plural) The biceps.
7. (nautical, in the plural) Violent blasts of wind.

Derived terms

Verb

1. with “down” To shoot someone or something, usually with a firearm.He gunned down the hitmen.The CEO gunned down that idea before we could present it to the board.
2. To speed something up.He gunned the engine.
3. To offer vigorous support to a person or cause.He’s gunning for you.
4. To seek to attack someone; to take aim at someone.He's been gunning for you ever since you embarrassed him at the party.
5. To practice fowling or hunting small game; chiefly in participial form: to go gunning.

Derived terms

From gunna, from gonna, from going to

Verb

1. (eye dialect, nonstandard) A verb used to express future action.I'm gun go get da gun from da closet.

Anagrams

• GNU, gnu, nug