tommy-gun

1 of 2

verb

tom·​my-gun ˈtä-mē-ˌgən How to pronounce tommy-gun (audio)
tommy-gunned; tommy-gunning; tommy-guns

transitive verb

: to shoot with a tommy gun

tommy gun

2 of 2

noun

Examples of tommy-gun in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Guy comes up, holding a tommy gun. George Saunders, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2020 That applies to all the dialogue, which doesn’t change at all from character to character, each of them firing off pop culture references like a tommy gun. Joshua Alston, Variety, 11 Jan. 2023 On the back of the bottle was a ghost engraving: the original G-man in a fedora, toting a tommy gun. Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 30 Jan. 2022 The image of a mask-wearing authoritarian pointing a tommy gun at first looks like irresistible kitsch but now seems disturbingly accurate for the COVID apocalypse. Armond White, National Review, 20 Aug. 2021 In the 1930s, the fee doubled the cost of a new tommy gun. Adam Weinstein, The New Republic, 20 Apr. 2020 The decade was also rife with poisonous bathtub gin, murderous Mafia dons, and the merciless rat-a-tat of tommy guns, as well as myriad political and cultural struggles simmering beneath the surface. Kim Kelly, Teen Vogue, 17 Jan. 2020 The first patrolman on scene, John Ferry, was firing shotgun rounds at the second-story window when backup arrived with tommy guns, revolvers and tear gas. David M. Zimmer, USA TODAY, 28 Aug. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tommy-gun.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

by shortening & alteration

First Known Use

Verb

1942, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1929, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tommy-gun was in 1929

Dictionary Entries Near tommy-gun

Cite this Entry

“Tommy-gun.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tommy-gun. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

tommy gun

noun
tom·​my gun
ˈtäm-ē-ˌgən

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