: contraband traffic in arms and ammunition especially when involving international relations or violation of customs laws
Examples of gunrunner in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
1 Feb. 2026
Love Lies Bleeding Set in 1989 New Mexico, Rose Glass' 2024 neo-noir romantic thriller stars Kristen Stewart as Lou, a withdrawn gym manager raised by a local crime lord and gunrunner.
—
Charlotte Walsh,
People.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Driving Pa Beck back to his mansion, Reacher takes an odd swerve into family counselor mode, telling the gunrunner that his son deserves to know that the reason he’s been made to suffer these last five years is because, welp, his old man is a gunrunner.
—
Chris Klimek,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2025
Her father’s work as a gunrunner and pilot led the British authorities to throw him in jail, weeks after Ms. Mehta was born.
—
Harrison Smith,
Washington Post,
22 Sep. 2023
There are brash foreign fighters and humble food drivers and furtive gunrunners and ancient babushkas knitting camouflage ghillie suits in community gyms.
—
Peter Rubin,
Longreads,
23 Feb. 2023
The 53-year-old Bout, a gunrunner, was the inspiration behind Nicholas Cage’s character in the 2005 film ‘‘Lord of War’’ and was on the radar of Western intelligence agencies for years before a 2008 Drug Enforcement Administration operation led to his capture.
—
Isabelle Khurshudyan,
BostonGlobe.com,
23 June 2020
Cartels and guerrillas in South America are similarly dependent on border-crossing drug smugglers and gunrunners for the tools of their trade.
—
Paul J. Angelo,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Apr. 2020
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Noun
The notion that Roper, as a young man, could have been a gunrunner in Colombia felt right to me.
—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
1 Feb. 2026
Love Lies Bleeding Set in 1989 New Mexico, Rose Glass' 2024 neo-noir romantic thriller stars Kristen Stewart as Lou, a withdrawn gym manager raised by a local crime lord and gunrunner.
—
Charlotte Walsh,
People.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Driving Pa Beck back to his mansion, Reacher takes an odd swerve into family counselor mode, telling the gunrunner that his son deserves to know that the reason he’s been made to suffer these last five years is because, welp, his old man is a gunrunner.
—
Chris Klimek,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2025
Her father’s work as a gunrunner and pilot led the British authorities to throw him in jail, weeks after Ms. Mehta was born.
—
Harrison Smith,
Washington Post,
22 Sep. 2023
There are brash foreign fighters and humble food drivers and furtive gunrunners and ancient babushkas knitting camouflage ghillie suits in community gyms.
—
Peter Rubin,
Longreads,
23 Feb. 2023
The 53-year-old Bout, a gunrunner, was the inspiration behind Nicholas Cage’s character in the 2005 film ‘‘Lord of War’’ and was on the radar of Western intelligence agencies for years before a 2008 Drug Enforcement Administration operation led to his capture.
—
Isabelle Khurshudyan,
BostonGlobe.com,
23 June 2020
Cartels and guerrillas in South America are similarly dependent on border-crossing drug smugglers and gunrunners for the tools of their trade.
—
Paul J. Angelo,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Apr. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Gunrunner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gunrunner. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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