revolver

noun

re·​volv·​er ri-ˈväl-vər 

-ˈvȯl-,

 also  -ˈvä-vər,

 or  -ˈvȯ-vər

1

: one that revolves

2

: a handgun with a cylinder of several chambers brought successively into line with the barrel and discharged with the same hammer

Examples of revolver in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Body camera footage from a second officer showed the man, clad in a white T-shirt and jeans and walking outside the fast-food restaurant raising what police said was the .38-caliber revolver officers recovered next to Tolliver after he was shot. —Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 15 May 2025

The movie is finally being released on Friday, three and a half years after its cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot and killed by a real bullet fired from an old-fashioned revolver that its star, Alec Baldwin, was rehearsing with on a set in New Mexico. —Julia Jacobs, New York Times, 1 May 2025

Law enforcement confirmed a 20-year-old suspect used a service revolver belonging to his mother, a longtime Leon County sheriff’s deputy. —Romy Ellenbogen, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2025

Men dressed as 1880s gunfighters are forever clomping up and down wooden sidewalks with jingling spurs and holstered revolvers on their belts. —Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

revolve + -er entry 2

First Known Use

circa 1835, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for revolver

• resolver
• solver

Kids Definition

revolver

noun

re·​volv·​er ri-ˈväl-vər 

-ˈvȯl-

: a handgun having a revolving cylinder holding several bullets all of which may be shot without loading again