Synonyms of gun

gun 1 of 2

noun

ˈgən 

1

as in firearm

a portable weapon from which a shot is discharged by gunpowder

while her father preferred hunting with a crossbow, she preferred a gun

Synonyms & Similar Words

• firearm
• rifle
• pistol
• handgun
• arm
• revolver
• shotgun
• small arm
• musket
• piece
• heat
• derringer
• six-shooter
• semiautomatic
• zip gun
• sidearm
• six-gun
• carbine
• flintlock
• blunderbuss
• machine gun
• firelock
• matchlock
• harquebus
• rod
• smoothbore
• gat
• culverin
• roscoe
• fieldpiece
• submachine gun
• assault rifle
• breechloader
• machine pistol
• assault weapon
• tommy gun
• self-loader
• automatic
• repeater
• speargun
• AK-47
• forty-five
• twenty-two

2

as in artillery

guns plural large firearms (as cannons or rockets)

the field commander called for the big guns to be deployed for the full-scale assault

Synonyms & Similar Words

• artillery
• weapons
• ordnance
• weaponry
• arms
• ammunition
• munitions
• armament

gun

2 of 2

verb

as in to shoot

to strike with a missile from a gun

traded stories of the Wild West, when outlaws gunned men down in broad daylight and in cold blood

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shoot
• drill
• pop
• kill
• plug
• drop
• destroy
• slaughter
• slay
• pepper
• fire (at)
• blow away
• pistol
• bring down
• shotgun
• machine-gun
• pick off
• butcher
• shoot down
• massacre
• blast (at)
• blaze
• snipe (at)
• tommy-gun
• fell
• potshot
• dispatch
• wipe out
• ice
• blot out
• annihilate
• decimate
• do in
• croak

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of gun

Noun

The third was a conservative voter in western New York opposed to gun regulations. — Katie McQue, NPR, 2 Nov. 2026

The man then pulled out a gun and shot the employee multiple times, Kellogg said. — Michelle L. Quinn, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026

Verb

But Priscilla turns her gun on Whittaker instead, gunning him down with three fatal shots in retaliation for Cary’s death. — Max Gao, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026

Mangione, 28, pleaded guilty Friday in Manhattan federal court to a pair of stalking charges and admitted trailing Thompson to UnitedHealth Group’s investor conference and gunning him down outside a Manhattan hotel in 2024. — Michael R. Sisak, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2026

Phrases Containing gun

• big gun
• son of a gun