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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of small arms
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
Hanging from the fence was a backpack and a reusable shopping bag — each containing a plate capable of stopping small arms fire, according to prosecutors.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
Two months later, the group launched more than two dozen attacks across northeastern Syria, relying on a combination of guerrilla tactics, including small arms fire, ambushes, assassinations, and improvised explosive devices targeting military checkpoints and government vehicles.
—Caroline Rose, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2025
From small arms to nuclear platforms, China has unveiled a new generation of weapons across every domain of warfare on Wednesday at a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of its victory in World War II.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
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
Hanging from the fence was a backpack and a reusable shopping bag — each containing a plate capable of stopping small arms fire, according to prosecutors.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
Two months later, the group launched more than two dozen attacks across northeastern Syria, relying on a combination of guerrilla tactics, including small arms fire, ambushes, assassinations, and improvised explosive devices targeting military checkpoints and government vehicles.
—Caroline Rose, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2025
From small arms to nuclear platforms, China has unveiled a new generation of weapons across every domain of warfare on Wednesday at a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of its victory in World War II.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for small arms
Noun
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Cellphone video recorded inside the school during the chaotic situation showed deputies from the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office sweeping the school with guns drawn.—
Morgan Rynor,
CBS News,
5 Feb. 2026
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Speaking on the morning after the shootings, Mayor Brandon Johnson said police had made 18 arrests and recovered five guns while responding to the shootings.—
Caroline Kubzansky,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Current owners can keep their firearms and sell them to dealers.—
Cindy Camp,
Baltimore Sun,
8 Feb. 2026
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Senate Bill 4 would build off Colorado’s 2019 extreme risk protection orders law, which allows family members, law enforcement, health care professionals and educators to petition the courts to require people to surrender their firearms temporarily.—
The Denver Post,
Denver Post,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Small arms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/small%20arms. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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