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

Another of her stars is a fierce fast-food warrior clad in a cheeseburger skirt, wielding ketchup and mustard laser guns and flanked by a squad of fighters who happen to be anthropomorphic pizza and hot dogs. —Leigh-Ann Jackson, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026

The discovery comes too late as Thompson pulls out his gun and fires three times into Vance's chest before being shot dead by arriving agents Parker and Timothy McGee (Sean Murray). —Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 25 Mar. 2026

Verb

The Eisenhower administration wanted Trujillo removed but ultimately a group of Dominican dissidents gunned him down. —Ryan Lucas, NPR, 17 Mar. 2026

Five programs are gunning for their first state title, most of which are in their finals debut. —Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2026

Phrases Containing gun

• big gun
• son of a gun