derringer

Definition of derringernext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of derringer This mysterious derringer pistol has sparked more intrigue than any of his other dangerous finds because people want to know the back story. Mike Sullivan, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2026 One hundred and fifty-nine years ago, a 26-year-old white supremacist and Confederate sympathizer named John Wilkes Booth pointed a .44 caliber derringer pistol at the back of Abraham Lincoln’s head and squeezed the trigger. Brian Matthew Jordan, National Review, 14 Apr. 2024 In 1976, after wrecking his Rolls-Royce in a drunk-driving accident, he was arrested, intoxicated, with a loaded derringer on the grounds of Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate. Chris Morris, Variety, 28 Oct. 2022 Police found a silver derringer-style gun in his backpack at the time of his arrest. oregonlive, 21 June 2022 There's also a replica of the derringer pistol John Wilkes Booth used to assassinate Lincoln. Ariana Garcia, Chron, 13 May 2022 Wagrowski also testified that police found two guns -- a .22-caliber Kel-tec and a small derringer -- at the Crumbley home, aside from the one allegedly used in the shooting. Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 8 Feb. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for derringer
Noun
  • Turning up the music in get car so that her daughter won’t hear, the grandmother gets out the car, takes a revolver out of her bag, and wincing and turning away, shoots the animal in the head.
    John Hopewell, Variety, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Following Alfonso Morales’ arrest, officers seized an assault rifle, a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver from the apartment, according to Montoya.
    Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 25 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • One day, a customer walked in with a pistol on his waist.
    Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Some of the girl’s recent public appearances included her driving a tank during army training supervised by her father and the pair firing pistols during a visit to a light munitions factory.
    Hyung-Jin Kim, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Then the man with the handgun shot him in the neck.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Ballard pulled out a handgun and shot her boyfriend and the two other men, police said.
    Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In the latest Texas gold fight, though, six-shooters, stagecoaches and dusty trails have been replaced by legal briefs and courtrooms. FROM 2016: New law calls for bringing Texas gold home.
    Paul Flahive, Austin American Statesman, 5 Mar. 2026
  • The handgun, which was introduced in 1935 after Prohibition, is a six-shooter revolver that fires rounds at a high velocity.
    Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • And a sidearm lefty against [Smith] isn’t ideal either.
    Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Each had a sidearm clasped in both hands.
    Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Kearee Captain, 21, of Hercules, was also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, due to a prior weapons conviction in Contra Costa, court records show.
    Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 6 Apr. 2026
  • One 16-year-old male was charged with delinquent unlawful possession of a firearm, large capacity feeding device and ammunition and carrying a loaded firearm and is expected to be arraigned in West Roxbury District Court.
    Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 6 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Police have previously said that the shooting likely stemmed from one person firing a gun at a gathering of 100 to 200 people on the block.
    Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2026
  • The gun police took from his cousin’s home wasn’t the gun used in the shooting, either, a firearms report showed.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 9 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Derringer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/derringer. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.

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