1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

gunning (for)

verb

present participle of gun (for)
as in running down

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gunning (for)
  1. running down
  2. killing
Verb
  • Edgar-Jones’s blouse featured gold buttons running down the front placket, creating a tailored effect that even evoked the type of white shifts men wore during England’s Regency era.
    — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Heat point guard Davion Mitchell has seemingly been anywhere and everywhere this summer, always in perpetual motion, burning calories, running down basketball courts and city streets.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of running down
Verb
  • In truly horrific news, a Frankfort mom is accused of killing her 2-year-old son after allegedly following the trial of Lindsay Clancy with great interest.
    — Hilary Gowins, Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Earlier this month, a fuel tanker crashed into other vehicles and exploded near the western city of Sanandaj, killing 11 people and injuring seven others.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of killing
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.

Browse Nearby Words

gunning
gunning (for)
gunrunner
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gunning (for).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gunning%20%28for%29. Accessed 29 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of argot

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All