as in firearm
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 arm
Other buyers in Asia such as Bangladesh and Myanmar have acquired armored vehicles, trainer aircraft, and small arms.
—
Amir Daftari
john Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 June 2025
The United States has provided more than three billion dollars’ worth of assistance, including equipment such as Humvees, grenade launchers, small arms, night-vision goggles, and body armor.
—Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
In contrast, Ukraine, engaged in a war with Russia, received 40,000 small arms from the United States between January 2020 and April 2024 – an average of 9,000 per year.
—Sean Campbell, The Conversation, 28 May 2025
There are several videos of soldiers ineffectually firing small arms at incoming drones, and more of them just watching as drone after drone sails overhead and crashes into a target.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for small arm
Amir Daftari
john Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 June 2025
The United States has provided more than three billion dollars’ worth of assistance, including equipment such as Humvees, grenade launchers, small arms, night-vision goggles, and body armor.
—Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
In contrast, Ukraine, engaged in a war with Russia, received 40,000 small arms from the United States between January 2020 and April 2024 – an average of 9,000 per year.
—Sean Campbell, The Conversation, 28 May 2025
There are several videos of soldiers ineffectually firing small arms at incoming drones, and more of them just watching as drone after drone sails overhead and crashes into a target.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for small arm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for small arm
Noun
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Lanez was convicted in 2022 of felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm and sentenced in August 2023 to 10 years in prison.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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The new rule and the announcement that USCIS officers can carry firearms are the most recent steps to transform the agency into a different entity, away from one founded to adjudicate benefit applications and provide services to the public.—
Stuart Anderson,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In a straw purchase, an individual buys a firearm for someone ineligible to purchase or possess guns.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
4 Sep. 2025
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This particular finding presents a more nuanced framing of gun violence and challenges dominant narratives about Chicago’s violence that have plagued the city’s reputation for decades.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Small arm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/small%20arm. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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