machine-gun
1 of 3adjective
ma·chine-gun mə-ˈshēn-ˌgən 
: characterized by rapidity and sharpness : rapid-fire
a comic's machine-gun delivery
machine-gun
2 of 3verb
machine-gunned; machine-gunning; machine-guns
transitive verb
: to shoot at, wound, or kill (someone or something) with a machine gun
… machine-gunned a marauding gang of terrorists outside the U.S. embassy …
Terry Eagleton
Terry EagletonA few years later someone machine-gunned to death the prosecutor who wanted to try the group for killing the soldiers. Paul Berman
Paul Berman machine gunner noun
or less commonly machine-gunner
plural machine gunners also machine-gunners
These battalions were composed of the hardened infantrymen—riflemen, machine gunners, grenadiers, and mortarmen—who carried the main burden of the war. Shelby L. Stanton
Shelby L. Stanton machine gun
3 of 3noun
plural machine guns
: a gun for sustained rapid fire that uses bullets
broadly : an automatic weapon
Example Sentences
Noun They heard the sound of machine-gun fire.
Recent Examples on the Web Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Aug. 2022 He had been issued a machine gun and was headed to the war. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 6 Aug. 2022 For example, a machine gun or similar firearm is mounted on top of an otherwise familiar dancing-and-prancing robot. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 25 July 2022 At a June 13 rally at the school in support of the trans students, another student reportedly expressed his desire to aim an automatic machine gun in the direction of the demonstrators, forcing the school to go into lockdown. Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 21 June 2022 The bump stock effectively turns the AR-15 into a machine gun capable of area fire. Phil Klay, The New Yorker, 11 June 2022 When placed on the back of a gun, the small, simple devices can change a handgun into a mini-machine gun. CBS News, 8 June 2022 Rolled out of the garage, into the pits and fired up, the Rallye Quattro A2 was louder than a rented machine gun at a Las Vegas firing range. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 1 June 2022 Hamzeh planned to raise an entrapment defense at trial this year, but pleaded guilty in December to possessing an unregistered machine gun that was sold to him by undercover FBI agents. Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 26 May 2022 See More
Noun
There’s a moment when someone hands off a giant machine gun to the guy on the motorcycle. Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Aug. 2022 He had been issued a machine gun and was headed to the war. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 6 Aug. 2022 For example, a machine gun or similar firearm is mounted on top of an otherwise familiar dancing-and-prancing robot. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 25 July 2022 At a June 13 rally at the school in support of the trans students, another student reportedly expressed his desire to aim an automatic machine gun in the direction of the demonstrators, forcing the school to go into lockdown. Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 21 June 2022 The bump stock effectively turns the AR-15 into a machine gun capable of area fire. Phil Klay, The New Yorker, 11 June 2022 When placed on the back of a gun, the small, simple devices can change a handgun into a mini-machine gun. CBS News, 8 June 2022 Rolled out of the garage, into the pits and fired up, the Rallye Quattro A2 was louder than a rented machine gun at a Las Vegas firing range. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 1 June 2022 Hamzeh planned to raise an entrapment defense at trial this year, but pleaded guilty in December to possessing an unregistered machine gun that was sold to him by undercover FBI agents. Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 26 May 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
Adjective
1906, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1894, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1867, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
machine gun
noun
: a gun that fires bullets continuously and rapidly