ma·chine-gun
mə-ˈshēn-ˌgən 
: characterized by rapidity and sharpness : rapid-fire
a comic's machine-gun delivery
machine-gunned; machine-gunning; machine-guns
: to shoot at, wound, or kill (someone or something) with a machine gun
… machine-gunned a marauding gang of terrorists outside the U.S. embassy …—
Terry Eagleton
Terry EagletonA few years later someone machine-gunned to death the prosecutor who wanted to try the group for killing the soldiers.—Paul Berman
Paul Berman
machine gunner
noun
or less commonly machine-gunner
plural machine gunners also machine-gunners
These battalions were composed of the hardened infantrymen—riflemen, machine gunners, grenadiers, and mortarmen—who carried the main burden of the war.
—Shelby L. Stanton
Shelby L. Stanton
plural machine guns
: a gun for sustained rapid fire that uses bullets
broadly
: an automatic weapon
Examples of machine-gun in a Sentence
Noun
They heard the sound of machine-gun fire.
Recent Examples on the Web
Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
Typically these include cargo carrying, casualty evacuation, mine laying, one-way attacks with explosive warheads, and direct combat using machine-gun turrets.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Martha Ross, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025
Warning Shots North Korea issued a scathing statement Saturday criticizing South Korea for firing more than 10 machine-gun warning shots on Tuesday as North Korean troops worked on a barrier near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the de facto border.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
Jade Jackson, IndyStar, 22 Sep. 2025
Interceptors Vs Shaheds Previously a large proportion of Shaheds had been shot down by mobile defence groups with machine guns and automatic cannons.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for machine-gun
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Adjective
Warning Shots North Korea issued a scathing statement Saturday criticizing South Korea for firing more than 10 machine-gun warning shots on Tuesday as North Korean troops worked on a barrier near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the de facto border.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
Typically these include cargo carrying, casualty evacuation, mine laying, one-way attacks with explosive warheads, and direct combat using machine-gun turrets.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
Of the 300,000 Chinese slaughtered by the Japanese Imperial Army during a six-week period, most were civilians who were were bayoneted, machine-gunned and burned alive.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025
Warning Shots North Korea issued a scathing statement Saturday criticizing South Korea for firing more than 10 machine-gun warning shots on Tuesday as North Korean troops worked on a barrier near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the de facto border.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
Noun
Two other 16-year-old boys were arrested for dangerous possession of a firearm and possession of a machine gun related to the shooting.
—Jade Jackson, IndyStar, 22 Sep. 2025
Interceptors Vs Shaheds Previously a large proportion of Shaheds had been shot down by mobile defence groups with machine guns and automatic cannons.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for machine-gun
Cite this Entry
“Machine-gun.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/machine-gun. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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