open carry
noun
US
: the act or practice of carrying a firearm openly in public or the legal right to do so
In Pennsylvania, open carry is generally allowed without a license, but Philadelphia does require a license.—
Joshua Gillin
Joshua GillinThe next frontier for gun-rights advocates is "open carry," epitomized last year by protests in which permitted gun owners carried firearms in plain view at Starbucks coffee shops.—Patrik Jonsson
Patrik JonssonThree more states ban concealed carry but not open carry.—Hank Johnson and Mitch Seabaugh
—often used before another nounHank Johnson and Mitch Seabaughopen carry laws/legislation
compare concealed carry
Examples of open carry in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
According to Florida law, that includes police stations, prisons, polling places, elementary or secondary school buildings and locations where open carry is prohibited by federal law.
—Max Rego, The Hill, 16 Sep. 2025
Attorney General James Uthmeier, in a memo sent Monday to Florida law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, said the First District Court of Appeal’s ruling that the state’s open carry ban is unconstitutional is binding statewide.
—Romy Ellenbogen, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
Thirty-eight states do not regulate the open carry of guns, which means they can be worn on the hip or slung across the back.
—John Feinblatt, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
But there is plenty that states can do, such as requiring more thorough background checks, instating a thirty-day waiting period, banning assault weapons, taxing the sale of firearms and ammunition, promoting gun storage in lockers, and prohibiting open carry.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2025
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Max Rego, The Hill, 16 Sep. 2025
Attorney General James Uthmeier, in a memo sent Monday to Florida law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, said the First District Court of Appeal’s ruling that the state’s open carry ban is unconstitutional is binding statewide.
—Romy Ellenbogen, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
Thirty-eight states do not regulate the open carry of guns, which means they can be worn on the hip or slung across the back.
—John Feinblatt, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
But there is plenty that states can do, such as requiring more thorough background checks, instating a thirty-day waiting period, banning assault weapons, taxing the sale of firearms and ammunition, promoting gun storage in lockers, and prohibiting open carry.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for open carry
Cite this Entry
“Open carry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open%20carry. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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