machine-gunning

verb

present participle of machine-gun
as in killing

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for machine-gunning
  1. killing
  2. destroying
  3. dispatching
  4. slaying
  5. slaughtering
  6. massacring
  7. annihilating
  8. decimating
Verb
  • Such attacks are common in Nigeria, where multiple armed groups operate, killing and kidnapping people for ransom.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Plane crash in Alaska A charter plane carrying eight people crashed near a remote radar site in western Alaska, killing everyone on board.
    — Irene Byon, NBC news, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of killing
Verb
  • Pumping at high speeds creates a suction vortex (upconing) that violently draws heavy sludge into the production stream, fouling piping and destroying surface pumps.
    — Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The tornado wreaked havoc in the village of 1,000 inhabitants, reducing homes to rubble and destroying numerous cars.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of destroying
Verb
  • Keb was outclassed from the opening bell and Harvey wasted no time dispatching him.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Copeland and Cage have reigned supreme over the tag team division since then, dispatching The Death Riders and The Dogs in separate matches.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of dispatching
Verb
  • Jose’s siblings are reeling from the shock slaying so close to home.
    — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • In a long campaign wielding the sword, converting Venezuela to the dollar would stand as his biggest dragon-slaying victory ever.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of slaying
Verb
  • But when his ice cream-eating schoolmates begin slaughtering their parents overnight, seemingly fueled by the wafting sound of the truck jingle and old-timey black-and-white animations invading their phones, Jared seems like the lucky one.
    — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Disease had significantly weakened Tenochtitlán’s ability to withstand Cortés’s siege, and the Europeans eventually wore the Aztec warriors down and broke through the city’s defenses, slaughtering the Aztecs and destroying the city.
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 June 2026
Definition of slaughtering
Verb
  • Nawrocki this month stripped Zelenskyy of Poland’s highest state honor, because Zelenskyy named a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during the war.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 June 2026
  • President Karol Nawrocki decided to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle over the Ukrainian leader’s decision to name a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during World War II.
    — Claudia Ciobanu, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026
Definition of massacring
Verb
  • Dark stars are hypothetical primordial stars that, rather than producing energy through nuclear fusion, are instead powered by self-annihilating dark matter within their cores.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The accusation works its way through society, annihilating reputations, deservedly or not.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of annihilating
Verb
  • But unfortunately, this was not the end of wildfires decimating North America this summer.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Beyond birds Cats left free to roam face more issues than just decimating the local bird population.
    — Tanya Edwards, USA Today, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of decimating
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

machine-gunned
machine-gunning
machine guns
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Machine-gunning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/machine-gunning. Accessed 26 Aug. 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 devolve

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

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

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

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Why do we say 'break a leg'?

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
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
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All