gun

gun¹ W2S2 [gʌn] n

[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: Perhaps from Gunnilda, a woman's name, from Old Norse Gunnhildr]

1.) a metal weapon which shoots bullets or ↑shells

have/hold/carry a gun

▪ I could see he was carrying a gun.

▪ I've never fired a gun in my life.

▪ Jake was pointing a gun at the door.

▪ Two policemen were killed in a gun battle last night.

2.) put/hold a gun to sb's head

a) to put a gun very close to someone's head to shoot them or to force them to do something

▪ He put a gun to her head and told the cashier to hand over the money.

b) to force someone to do something they do not want to do

▪ You chose to live here. Nobody put a gun to your head.

3.) a tool that forces out small objects or a liquid by pressure

▪ a paint gun

▪ a nail gun

→↑flashgun, ↑spray gun

4.) also starting pistol

a gun which is fired into the air at the start of a race

5.) AmE informal big/top gun

someone who is very important within an organization

▪ Jed wanted to impress a Harvard professor and some other big guns.

6.) hired gun

AmE informal someone who is paid to shoot someone else

7.) with all guns blazing

if you do something with all guns blazing, you do it with a lot of energy, determination, and noise

→↑son of a gun,stick to your guns at ↑stick¹ , jump the gun at ↑jump¹ (11), be going great guns at ↑great¹ (11), spike sb's guns at ↑spike² (6)

gun ²

gun² v past tense and past participle gunned present participle gunning

1.) be gunning for sb informal

to be trying to find an opportunity to criticize or harm someone

▪ Why is he gunning for me?

2.) be gunning for sth informal

to be trying very hard to obtain something

▪ He's gunning for your job.

3.) [T] AmE informal to make the engine of a car go very fast by pressing the ↑accelerator very hard

gun down [gun sb<=>down] phr v

to shoot someone and badly injure or kill them, especially someone who cannot defend themselves

▪ A policeman was gunned down as he left his house this morning.