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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

gun.

A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈɡʌn//ˈɡɜn//ɡʊn/Ireland, Northern-England
  1. A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot.

    Guns were considered improvements of crossbows and catapults.
    Looking for wild meat to fill his family's freezer for the winter, the young man quietly raised his gun at the approaching deer.
  2. A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot. A very portable, short firearm, for hand use, which fires bullets or projectiles, such as a handgun, revolver, pistol, or Derringer.

  3. A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot. A less portable, long firearm that fires bullets or projectiles; a rifle, either manual, automatic or semi-automatic; a flintlock, musket or shotgun.

  4. A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot. A cannon with relatively long barrel, operating with relatively low angle of fire, and having a high muzzle velocity.

  5. A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot. A cannon with a 6-inch/155mm minimum nominal bore diameter and tube length 30 calibers or more.

  6. A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot. A firearm or cannon used for saluting or signalling.

    figuratively
    21-gun salute
  7. A device operated by a trigger and acting in a manner similar to a firearm. Any implement designed to fire a projectile from a tube.

    air-pressure pellet gun
    zipgun
  8. A device operated by a trigger and acting in a manner similar to a firearm. A device or tool that projects a substance.

    squirt gun
    spray gun
  9. A device operated by a trigger and acting in a manner similar to a firearm. A device or tool that applies something rather than projecting it.

    a rivet gun
    screw gun
  10. 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).

  11. A pattern that "fires" out other patterns.

  12. A person who carries or uses a gun (rifle, shotgun or handgun), particularly with reference to how quickly the person can draw and fire the gun.

    colloquial · metonymically
    Some said that the cowboy was the fastest gun in the West.
  13. An electron gun.

  14. The biceps.

    colloquial · plural-normally
  15. Violent blasts of wind.

    in-plural
  16. Someone excellent, surpassingly wonderful, skilful, or cool.

    Australia · New-Zealand · slang
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰéntis Proto-Germanic *gunþiz Old Norse gunnr Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂-der. Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂tís Proto-Germanic *hildiz Old Norse hildr Old Norse Gunnhildrder. Middle English gunne English gun From Middle English gunne, gonne, possibly from Gunnhild, a female given name formerly used as a nickname for engines of war (compare Nordic Gunn, a female name meaning “battle”). The name is composed of the Norse elements gunnr and hildr, both meaning "battle".

verb/ˈɡʌn//ˈɡɜn//ɡʊn/Ireland, Northern-England
  1. To shoot with a gun.

    transitive
  2. To cause to speed up.

    transitive
    He gunned the engine.
  3. To offer vigorous support to (a person or cause).

    informal
    We're all gunning for you.
  4. To strongly desire or seek, and make a great effort to obtain (something which one is 'gunning for' or 'gunning to do').

    informal
  5. To seek to attack someone; to take aim at someone; used with for.

    He's been gunning for you ever since you embarrassed him at the party.
  6. To practice fowling or hunting small game; chiefly in participial form: to go gunning.

  7. Synonym of gun down (“to masturbate while making sustained eye contact with someone — typically a female prison officer — as a form of intimidation”).

    US · ambitransitive · slang
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰéntis Proto-Germanic *gunþiz Old Norse gunnr Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂-der. Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂tís Proto-Germanic *hildiz Old Norse hildr Old Norse Gunnhildrder. Middle English gunne English gun From Middle English gunne, gonne, possibly from Gunnhild, a female given name formerly used as a nickname for engines of war (compare Nordic Gunn, a female name meaning “battle”). The name is composed of the Norse elements gunnr and hildr, both meaning "battle".

noun
  1. A magsman or street thief.

    obsolete · slang
Where this word comes from

Related to ganef.

verb
  1. Nonstandard spelling of going to.

    alt-of · nonstandard
    I'm gun go get my coat from da closet.
Where this word comes from

From gunna, from gonna, from going to.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.