gun

gun1 [ gʌn ] noun count ***

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.

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.

2. ) a STARTING GUN used in sports competitions

3. ) a tool used for forcing something out of its container using a lot of pressure:

a paint/glue/staple gun

go great guns INFORMAL

to do something very quickly and with a lot of success or enthusiasm

hold/put a gun to someone's head INFORMAL

to BLACKMAIL someone (=force them to do something by threatening to do something bad to them)

under the gun

under a lot of pressure and not certain that you will succeed

with (all/both) guns blazing INFORMAL

with a lot of enthusiasm or energy

=> JUMP1, STICK TO

gun

gun 2 [ gʌn ] verb transitive

AMERICAN to make a car engine work very quickly by pressing your foot on the ACCELERATOR

a. to start driving a car very fast

,gun `down phrasal verb transitive MAINLY JOURNALISM

to shoot someone and kill them or injure them badly, especially someone who is not guilty of anything, or who is not carrying a gun

`gun for phrasal verb INFORMAL

be/go gunning for someone

to try to hurt someone or damage their reputation

be gunning for something

to try to get something, for example a job or prize