GUN (gunned, gunning)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: gunned    , gunning   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does gun mean? 

• GUN (noun)
  The noun GUN has 7 senses:

1. a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)

2. large but transportable armament

3. a person who shoots a gun (as regards their ability)

4. a professional killer who uses a gun

5. a hand-operated pump that resembles a pistol; forces grease into parts of a machine

6. a pedal that controls the throttle valve

7. the discharge of a firearm as signal or as a salute in military ceremonies

  Familiarity information: GUN used as a noun is common.

• GUN (verb)
  The verb GUN has 1 sense:

1. shoot with a gun

  Familiarity information: GUN used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GUN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("gun" is a kind of...):

arm; weapon; weapon system (any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting)

Meronyms (parts of "gun"):

gunstock; stock (the handle of a handgun or the butt end of a rifle or shotgun or part of the support of a machine gun or artillery gun)

safety catch; safety lock (guard consisting of a locking device that prevents a weapon from being fired)

cartridge extractor; cartridge remover; extractor (a mechanism in a firearm that pulls an empty shell case out of the chamber and passes it to the ejector)

gun trigger; trigger (lever that activates the firing mechanism of a gun)

gun-sight; gunsight (a sight used for aiming a gun)

gun muzzle; muzzle (the open circular discharging end of a gun)

firing mechanism; gunlock (the action that ignites the charge in a firearm)

firing chamber; gun chamber (chamber that is the part of a gun that receives the charge)

cartridge clip; cartridge holder; clip; magazine (a metal frame or container holding cartridges; can be inserted into an automatic gun)

cartridge ejector; ejector (a mechanism in a firearm that ejects the empty shell case after firing)

barrel; gun barrel (a tube through which a bullet travels when a gun is fired)

action; action mechanism (the operating part that transmits power to a mechanism)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gun"):

cannon (heavy automatic gun fired from an airplane)

whaling gun (a gun (or device resembling a gun) for discharging a projectile (especially a harpoon) at a whale)

set gun; spring gun (a gun that is set to fire on any intruder that comes in contact with the wire that sets it off)

Quaker gun (a dummy gun or piece of artillery made usually of wood)

minute gun ((military) gun that is discharged once every minute (usually as part of a military funeral))

gas gun (a gun that fires gas shells)

firearm; piece; small-arm (a portable gun)

cannon (heavy gun fired from a tank)

breechloader (a gun that is loaded at the breech)

ack-ack; ack-ack gun; antiaircraft; antiaircraft gun; flack; flak; pom-pom (artillery designed to shoot upward at airplanes)

air gun; air rifle; airgun (a gun that propels a projectile by compressed air)

Derivation:

gun (shoot with a gun)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Large but transportable armament

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

artillery; gun; heavy weapon; ordnance

Hypernyms ("gun" is a kind of...):

armament (weaponry used by military or naval force)

Meronyms (parts of "gun"):

gunstock; stock (the handle of a handgun or the butt end of a rifle or shotgun or part of the support of a machine gun or artillery gun)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "gun"):

cannon (a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels)

field artillery; field gun (movable artillery (other than antiaircraft) used by armies in the field (especially for direct support of front-line troops))

four-pounder (an artillery gun that throws a shot weighing four pounds)

Holonyms ("gun" is a part of...):

battery (a collection of related things intended for use together)

Derivation:

gun (shoot with a gun)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A person who shoots a gun (as regards their ability)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

gun; gunman

Hypernyms ("gun" is a kind of...):

shooter; shot (a person who shoots (usually with respect to their ability to shoot))

Derivation:

gun (shoot with a gun)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A professional killer who uses a gun

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

gun; gun for hire; gunman; gunslinger; hired gun; hit man; hitman; shooter; torpedo; triggerman

Hypernyms ("gun" is a kind of...):

liquidator; manslayer; murderer (a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being))

Derivation:

gun (shoot with a gun)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A hand-operated pump that resembles a pistol; forces grease into parts of a machine

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

grease gun; gun

Hypernyms ("gun" is a kind of...):

pump (a mechanical device that moves fluid or gas by pressure or suction)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A pedal that controls the throttle valve

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

accelerator; accelerator pedal; gas; gas pedal; gun; throttle

Context example:

he stepped on the gas

Hypernyms ("gun" is a kind of...):

foot lever; foot pedal; pedal; treadle (a lever that is operated with the foot)

Holonyms ("gun" is a part of...):

auto; automobile; car; machine; motorcar (a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine)

aeroplane; airplane; plane (an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The discharge of a firearm as signal or as a salute in military ceremonies

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

a twenty gun salute

Hypernyms ("gun" is a kind of...):

discharge; firing; firing off (the act of discharging a gun)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Derivation:

gun (shoot with a gun)

• GUN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they gun    ... he / she / it guns   
Past simple: gunned   
Past participle: gunned   
-ing form: gunning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Shoot with a gun

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "gun" is one way to...):

blast; shoot (fire a shot)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "gun"):

machine gun (shoot with a machine gun)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Also:

gun down (strike down or shoot down)

Derivation:

gun (the discharge of a firearm as signal or as a salute in military ceremonies)

gun (large but transportable armament)

gun (a weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel))

gun (a professional killer who uses a gun)

gun (a person who shoots a gun (as regards their ability))

gunner (a serviceman in the artillery)

 Context examples 

She shook her head and held out her hand for the shot-gun.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

A gentleman carrying a gun, with two pointers playing round him, was passing up the hill and within a few yards of Marianne, when her accident happened.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

These, he pointed around, are my other guns.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It is the butt-end of the gun as the son stood listening.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I returned to my hut for the shot-gun, made sure it was loaded, and went down to the Ghost.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

“Captain,” said I, “Trelawney is the dead shot. Give him your gun; his own is useless.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

To hear and see the fight the whole night through, and never to pull a lanyard or take the tompions out of my guns.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The scientists then analyzed this information to quantify what kind of turbulence exists in the region, which provided the final smoking gun of an HFA.

(Messenger spots giant space weather effects at Mercury, NASA)

Many U.S. households have guns, but they can cause harm if not handled properly.

(Gun Safety, NIH)

While other telescopes had found hints that this explosion was not spherical, NuSTAR found the "smoking gun" in the form of a radioisotope called titanium-44.

(Star Explosion is Lopsided, NASA)