: relating to or being a fast, freewheeling style of play in basketball that de-emphasizes set plays and defense

Examples of run-and-gun in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
During the season, coach Bort Escoto changed his team’s offense, switching to run-and-gun style put in by Paul Westhead years ago at Loyola Marymount and now the Spartans are in the Division V regional final. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026 The defensive issues aren’t just related to poor play by the blueliners and the team’s run-and-gun style under first-year coach Joel Quenneville, which often leads to chances being traded. Eric Stephens, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026 Moe helped pioneer a run-and-gun style of offense that often produced final scores in the 120s and beyond. Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 17 Feb. 2026 Panahi, while a guest on this week’s episode of the Toolkit podcast, discussed his run-and-gun shooting process and his comfort level working with untrained actors under these conditions. Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 19 Dec. 2025 Embiid and George are no longer the two most important players on this suddenly tantalizing, run-and-gun Philadelphia team. Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2025 Some successful military shooters like The Division might periodically scratch the itch, but not since the early days of Battlefield has there been any meaningful alternative to the mindless run-and-gun antics of Black Ops. Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2025 What really changed for Bobrovsky was the Panthers went from a run-and-gun offensive team to an in-your-face defensive team under coach Paul Maurice. Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 19 May 2025 Adapting his indie run-and-gun instincts for the U.S. market, Reuther shot the film, Uppercut, over nine days. Kevin Cassidy, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of run-and-gun was in 1960

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Cite this Entry

“Run-and-gun.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/run-and-gun. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.

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