gunning

1. 1
   noununcountable

   The act of discharging or firing a gun.

   The gunning continued well past nightfall as the defenders held their line.

   Hunters complained that the constant gunning had driven the deer deep into the woods.

   Similargunfire, shooting, firing

   Note

   As a noun it can be counted, so it takes a plural, gunnings, for separate incidents. Gary Ferraro and Susan Andreatta's Cultural Anthropology (2011) lists machine-gunnings beside shootings, muggings and bombings, treating each burst of fire as one event. Keep it apart from the verb's -ing form: the noun takes the and a plural, while the verb takes an object, as in gunning the engine.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of gun.

   The driver was gunning the throttle as he merged onto the freeway.

   Protesters scattered as the soldiers came gunning through the square.

   Note

   Much of what gun does as a verb happens in this -ing form. Hunters go gunning for small game, a phrase heard mostly in this shape. Someone gunning for a rival has a target, marked by for. Informally, a person gunning for a prize or gunning to win is making a great effort. With a direct object it means pushing an engine harder, as in gunning the motor.

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