Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

gun

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun [countable] American English pronunciation: gun /ɡʌn/ 
Word Forms
Close
singulargun
pluralguns
  1. 1
    a weapon that shoots bullets, for example a pistol or a rifle. You load a gun with ammunition and pull the trigger to use it

    “Move!” said Cardiff, waving the gun at them.

    She found herself looking down the barrel of a gun.

    a gang armed with machine guns

    aim/point a gun:

    He pointed the gun directly at me.

    fire a gun:

    She was learning how to fire a gun.

    carry a gun:

    Their police officers all carry guns.

    draw a gun (=take it out, ready to use):

    He spun around at the noise, drawing his gun.

    pull a gun on someone (=take out a gun and point it at someone):

    Suddenly the officer pulled a gun on them.

    a gun goes off (=it shoots a bullet):

    A police gun went off accidentally during a search of his home.

    gun battle:

    He was shot dead in a gun battle with the police.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  gunThesaurus entry for this meaning of gun
    1. a.
      a large weapon that fires objects like large bullets, for example a cannon or a mortar

      Enemy guns fired a shell every two or three minutes.

      heavy guns:

      Our troops came under prolonged bombardment by heavy guns.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  gunThesaurus entry for this meaning of gun

This is the American English definition of gun. View British English definition of gun.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

 

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

watchword

a word or phrase that expresses someone’s attitude or intention

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog