# gun

Pronunciation: say "GUN" /ɡʌn/

## Noun

1. A weapon or other device that shoots bullets, shells, or other projectiles through a tube, such as a firearm or cannon.
   - Simple: A weapon or machine that shoots bullets or other objects out of a tube.
   - _The fortress wall held a row of guns pointed out toward the harbor._
   - _From the shore, the rescue team used a line-throwing gun to send a rope out to the stranded fishing boat._
2. A firearm carried and used by one person, such as a pistol, revolver, rifle, or shotgun.
   - Simple: A weapon a person holds to shoot bullets, such as a pistol or rifle.
   - _The detective drew her gun and aimed it at the doorway._
   - _He concealed a compact gun beneath his jacket before leaving._
3. A hand tool worked by a trigger that applies something rather than shooting it, such as paint, glue, sealant, rivets, staples, or labels.
   - Simple: A tool you hold and squeeze to spray or push out paint, glue, or similar stuff.
   - _The mechanic pumped grease into the joint with a gun._
   - _She squeezed the gun and laid a neat bead of sealant along the tile._
4. A large cannon, especially one with a long barrel that fires shells at high speed on a flat path.
   - Simple: A big cannon with a long barrel, used by an army or navy.
   - _The naval gun sent a shell toward the enemy ridge on a nearly flat trajectory._
   - _Coastal batteries mounted long-barreled guns for engaging ships at great range._
5. A firearm or cannon discharged for a ceremonial salute or as a signal.
   - Simple: A cannon or rifle fired to honor someone or to send a signal, not to harm anyone.
   - _The fort fired its gun at noon to signal the change of watch._
   - _A row of guns thundered in salute as the coffin passed._
9. The biceps, viewed as a sign of muscular strength. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The big muscle on the front of your upper arm.
   - _All those curls and chin-ups paid off, and by summer his guns were stretching the sleeves of every T-shirt he owned._
   - _He spent the whole summer lifting weights and came back to school with serious guns._
10. A person who carries or uses a firearm, especially noted for how quickly they can draw and shoot. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A person who uses a gun, especially one who can shoot fast.
   - _Every outlaw feared the young gun who had never lost a duel._
   - _The town brought in a hired gun to deal with the raiders._
11. A person regarded as excellent, impressive, or admirably cool. *(slang, Australia, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: A person who is really good at something or really cool.
   - _Everyone agrees she's an absolute gun at closing deals._
   - _Those new hires are real guns when it comes to coding._
12. A device that produces a narrow beam of electrons, used in older television tubes and similar displays.
   - Simple: The part inside an old TV that shoots a beam of tiny particles at the screen.
   - _The cathode-ray tube's gun swept a beam of electrons across the phosphor screen._
   - _Misaligned guns in the old monitor produced blurry, off-color images._

## Verb

6. To cause an engine or vehicle to accelerate sharply.
   - Simple: To make an engine or vehicle speed up quickly.
   - _She gunned the throttle and the boat surged forward._
   - _Racers gun their engines the instant the flag drops._
7. To set out to attack or take aim at someone, used with for.
   - Simple: To go after someone with the aim of attacking them.
   - _Critics have been gunning for the director ever since his last film flopped._
   - _Whenever he wins, his rivals gun for him twice as hard._
8. To make a determined effort to achieve or obtain something. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To try very hard to get or do something.
   - _He's gunning to finish the marathon under four hours._
   - _Ambitious young analysts are all gunning to make partner within a decade._
13. To give strong, energetic support to a person or cause. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To strongly support a person or idea.
   - _Everyone in the office is gunning for her to get the promotion she deserves._
   - _Her whole family is gunning for her to win the final round._
14. To hunt small game or wildfowl with a firearm, chiefly used in the participial form, as in to go gunning.
   - Simple: To hunt birds or small animals with a gun.
   - _Few people still gun for wildfowl on the bay, but a handful of old-timers row out before dawn every November._
   - _When the season opens, they spend their weekends gunning in the thickets behind the farm, mostly for woodcock and grouse._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A long surfboard with a pointed nose and a narrow shape, designed for riding large waves.
- (noun) Violent blasts or gusts of wind, especially as met with at sea.
- (noun) In cellular automata, a pattern that repeatedly produces and emits other moving patterns.
- (verb) Of a male prisoner, to masturbate while holding sustained eye contact with someone, typically a female prison officer, as a form of intimidation.
- (noun) A street thief or confidence trickster who preys on passers-by.

## Origin

Gunnhild, a woman's name built from the Norse words gunnr and hildr (each meaning "battle"), was once applied as a nickname to war engines, and it may be the source of Middle English gunne or gonne.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/gun (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).