as in shooting
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gunning
Matthew Tkachuk, Auston Matthews and other Team USA stars will be gunning for some revenge along with a gold medal.
—
Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 31 Dec. 2025
Chalamet is gunning for a best actor trophy.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 24 Dec. 2025
All of them are gunning for a spot at the Games.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 12 Dec. 2025
Sure, the two rivals came together on the Yellow Sophie vote, but Sage has been pretty openly gunning for Savannah ever since the merge.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Dec. 2025
Dvalishvili, coming off a dominant win in their last meeting, is gunning for a historic fourth title defense in 2025, something almost unheard of in the UFC.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025
Everyone was gunning to vote for him.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2025
Courteney is our protagonist, an elite coach who’s got 14 championships under her belt and is gunning for her 15th with a top-flight crew from the goofily named Sammy Davis Sr.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 7 Nov. 2025
Netflix and Sony are gunning toward a 2029 release for KPop Demon Hunters 2, Deadline has confirmed.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 31 Dec. 2025
Chalamet is gunning for a best actor trophy.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 24 Dec. 2025
All of them are gunning for a spot at the Games.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside, 12 Dec. 2025
Sure, the two rivals came together on the Yellow Sophie vote, but Sage has been pretty openly gunning for Savannah ever since the merge.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Dec. 2025
Dvalishvili, coming off a dominant win in their last meeting, is gunning for a historic fourth title defense in 2025, something almost unheard of in the UFC.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025
Everyone was gunning to vote for him.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2025
Courteney is our protagonist, an elite coach who’s got 14 championships under her belt and is gunning for her 15th with a top-flight crew from the goofily named Sammy Davis Sr.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 7 Nov. 2025
Netflix and Sony are gunning toward a 2029 release for KPop Demon Hunters 2, Deadline has confirmed.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gunning
Verb
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Anger over shooting video Others pointed to the video of the shooting as a source of outrage.—
Briseida Holguin,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
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Michael David McKee was arrested on Saturday, accused of fatally shooting his ex-wife and her dentist husband at their home in Columbus, Ohio, in late December.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Dëmin finally stopped the bleeding out of the huddle, drilling a left-corner 3 to give Brooklyn a pulse, but the climb was steep from there.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
10 Jan. 2026
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Energy experts say this trend shows how sharply the US and China are diverging on the energy transition, with China sprinting far ahead on renewables and EVs, while the US doubles down on drilling oil at home and abroad.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN Money,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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There could be some relationship turmoil popping up for you now and in the weeks ahead, Gemini.—
Kyle Thomas,
PEOPLE,
9 Nov. 2025
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After popping up in Batman Forever (1995), Empire Records (1995), and The Insider (1999), Mazar found a semi-permanent home as Vincent Chase’s publicist on Entourage (2004–2011).—
Maggie Fremont,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gunning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gunning. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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