as in guns
a portable weapon from which a shot is discharged by gunpowder
the soldiers keep their small arms securely in their holsters when not on patrol
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of small arms
The suspension applies to at least a part of SIG Sauer, a major small arms maker based in Switzerland and Germany.
—
Arkansas Online, 22 Mar. 2026
During the past few years, the Houthis have become less reliant on Iran for weapons, smuggling in drone components from Chinese companies and small arms from the Horn of Africa.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
The year is 1940 and the Second World War is in full swing, coming to Birmingham with a bang when a bomb falls on a small arms factory, killing everyone including a previously unseen member of the Shelby family, Agnes (Ruby Ashbourne Serkis).
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 5 Mar. 2026
From the north and from the island’s southern highpoint, 550-foot Mount Suribachi, shells and small arms fire rained on the Marines, the Courant reported.
—Helen I. Bennett, Hartford Courant, 6 Feb. 2026
Sort of small arms warfare, where they were harassed for months in one of these sad situations where the cops wouldn’t intervene.
—Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 8 Jan. 2026
The Russia-Ukraine War began as a fairly standard 21st-century conventional war, marked by huge armored columns trying to take key cities and military installations, air assaults, close air support, and small arms gunbattles.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 28 Dec. 2025
Producer and colleague Monika Evstatieva and I were in that convoy, took small arms fire, but were unharmed.
—Tom Bowman, NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
Alkhatib warned that Hamas may try to retain small arms to exert control over pockets of Gaza and seek to influence any technocratic governing structure meant to reconstruct the enclave and pave the way for self-governance.
—Laura Kelly, The Hill, 6 Oct. 2025
Arkansas Online, 22 Mar. 2026
During the past few years, the Houthis have become less reliant on Iran for weapons, smuggling in drone components from Chinese companies and small arms from the Horn of Africa.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
The year is 1940 and the Second World War is in full swing, coming to Birmingham with a bang when a bomb falls on a small arms factory, killing everyone including a previously unseen member of the Shelby family, Agnes (Ruby Ashbourne Serkis).
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 5 Mar. 2026
From the north and from the island’s southern highpoint, 550-foot Mount Suribachi, shells and small arms fire rained on the Marines, the Courant reported.
—Helen I. Bennett, Hartford Courant, 6 Feb. 2026
Sort of small arms warfare, where they were harassed for months in one of these sad situations where the cops wouldn’t intervene.
—Peter Larsen, Oc Register, 8 Jan. 2026
The Russia-Ukraine War began as a fairly standard 21st-century conventional war, marked by huge armored columns trying to take key cities and military installations, air assaults, close air support, and small arms gunbattles.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 28 Dec. 2025
Producer and colleague Monika Evstatieva and I were in that convoy, took small arms fire, but were unharmed.
—Tom Bowman, NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
Alkhatib warned that Hamas may try to retain small arms to exert control over pockets of Gaza and seek to influence any technocratic governing structure meant to reconstruct the enclave and pave the way for self-governance.
—Laura Kelly, The Hill, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for small arms
Noun
-
Lester noted that the number of homicides has fallen 22%, shootings have dropped 25%, and more than 4,200 guns were seized in over the last four years.—
James Taylor,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
In your final scene, Joy sticks to her guns and leaves the ER.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Mutch, who was convicted of killing a 13-year-old girl in 1975, is barred from having firearms.—
Bay City News Service,
Mercury News,
30 Mar. 2026
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In the Senate, lawmakers today already passed bills regulating the 3D printing of firearms and renaming César Chávez Day for farmworkers.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Small arms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/small%20arms. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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