machine-gunv.
/məˈʃiːnɡʌn/, U.S. /məˈʃinˌɡən/ 1. transitive (frequently in passive). To fire a machine gun or machine guns at (an object, person, etc.); to hit (a target) with machine-gun fire. Also intransitive with object implied.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > use or operation of small arms > use small arms [verb (transitive)] > shoot with machine-gun
machine-gun1894
tommy-gun1940
1894 Saturday Rev. 4 Aug. 114/2 The Japanese were affecting great horror at the idea of their having machine-gunned and torpedoed the transport.
1914 Independent (N.Y.) 30 Nov. 319/1 The old suit case brought years ago in Chicago, has been machine-gunned into bits by German skirmishing fire.
1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings 185 Other guerilla work is done by craft which..machine-gun whatever worth-while objects they spot.
1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 16 May 21 I..maintained my course to machine-gun the decks.
1955 Times 25 June 6/3 The aim [of the conspiracy] was to murder the President of the Republic through air bombardment or land action and to intimidate civilians by air bombing or machine-gunning the streets.
1971 R. Moisés et al. Tall Candle vii. 102 The soldiers gave the captured men picks and shovels and had them dig a long trench. When it was finished, the sixteen men and boys were machine-gunned into their newly dug grave.
1985 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 11 May As we got to about waist level they started machine gunning from behind. I was hit just at the side of the back.
2004 M. Oke Times of our Lives 162 We were persistently machine-gunned, mortared and shelled by German artillery.
2.
a. transitive. To direct or effect (actions, speech, etc.) in rapid succession or with unrelenting force, in a manner resembling machine-gun fire. Also: to set about or assail (a person or thing) with rapid, repeated actions or relentless intensity.
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1911 Trenton (New Jersey) Evening Times 7 June 11/2 Harrisburg broke through the defense of the Tigers and machine gunned in seven runs.
1930 J. B. Priestley Angel Pavement ii. 76 They sweep, lash, and machine-gun the streets with rain.
1963 C. Bukowski Let. 18 Dec. in Screams from Balcony (1998) 97 I, too, am shot. They have machine gunned me down with their labors and I have bought their plan.
1993 Orange County (Calif.) Register (Nexis) 24 Dec. c3 The misclaims, false comparisons and meaningless statistics machine-gunned at us by advertisers, politicians and governments.
2002 Philadelphia City Paper 18 Apr. 11/4 Calling the firing of Parsons ‘weak’ and ‘ridiculous’, Lee was machine-gunning Simpson using his vaunted eloquence.
b. intransitive. To move, talk, strike, etc., very fast or without stopping, in a manner resembling machine-gun fire. Usually with adverbial complement.
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1952 A. L. Rowse Diary 19 Oct. (2003) 151 I was in a hot spot, between these two clever women machine-gunning across me.
1999 Cycle World Oct. 110/2 He..roosted around a corner, then machine-gunned through the gears.
2004 T. C. Boyle Inner Circle ii. v. 317 Mrs. Matthews began machine-gunning away at the typewriter.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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