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machine gun

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noun
a small arm operated by a mechanism, able to deliver a rapid and continuous fire of bullets as long as the trigger is pressed.
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Origin of machine gun

First recorded in 1865–70

Other definitions for machine gun (2 of 2)

machine-gun
[ muh-sheen-guhn ]
/ məˈʃinˌgʌn /

verb (used with object), ma·chine-gunned, ma·chine-gun·ning.
to shoot at with a machine gun.

Origin of machine-gun

First recorded in 1880–85

OTHER WORDS FROM machine-gun

machine gunner, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use machine gun in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for machine gun

machine gun

noun
  1. a rapid-firing automatic gun, usually mounted, from which small-arms ammunition is discharged
  2. (as modifier)machine-gun fire
verb machine-gun -guns, -gunning or -gunned
(tr) to shoot or fire at with a machine gun

Derived forms of machine gun

machine gunner, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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