guns 1 of 2

noun

plural of gun
as in weapons
large firearms (as cannons or rockets) the field commander called for the big guns to be deployed for the full-scale assault

Synonyms & Similar Words

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guns

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of gun
as in shoots
to strike with a missile from a gun traded stories of the Wild West, when outlaws gunned men down in broad daylight and in cold blood

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of guns
Noun
Prosecutors had said that Laster and Rozier, longtime friends, were part of a group called GMB that publicly flaunted its access to guns and that Laster allegedly relied on to intimidate witnesses. — Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2026 Thailand has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in Southeast Asia, with around 15 guns per 100 people. — Kocha Olarn, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026 According to Chicago police, a 25-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were exiting the gas station when a silver Nissan sedan approached and the occupants inside pulled out guns and shot in their direction. — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026 His hands were a nonstop party, shooting finger guns and patriotic salutes to his attendees. — Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026 That ominous focus runs beneath the trailer, beneath the guns, frantic confrontations, cars, and glimpses of a family suddenly forced to look over its shoulder. — Sophie Miller, Rolling Stone, 10 Aug. 2026 This modular system enables rapid tool changes in minutes, allowing the robot to switch between chainsaws, drills, impact guns, and industrial screwdrivers. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026 The walls are decorated with lamps and replica guns, and in future the group plans to add a projector and an air-conditioning unit. — New Atlas, 3 Aug. 2026 Stuttering lines, on the left, jerking up and down, denote the rattle of guns; on the right, the lines are all but flat, as silence descends. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Verb
Both guns the suspect used in the shooting were acquired legally in San Antonio in 2017, Davis said. — Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 3 Mar. 2026 The military seemingly guns her down during a confrontation with Hopper and Eleven. — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Jan. 2026 One dog manages to escape the store, but Noem quickly catches up to it and brutally guns it down. — Jack Dunn, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guns
  1. weapons
  2. shoots
  3. artillery
  4. drills
  5. weaponry
Noun
  • Shelton cruised from there, mixing his primary weapons in with athletic defense that garnered big reactions from the Montreal crowd and deflated Nakashima even more.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Video snippets captured from two highway patrol officers’ cameras showed the man initially standing at a homeless encampment while holding a hammer and two nearly identical homemade weapons, each of them made with a knife affixed to the end of pole.
    — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of weapons
Verb
  • One of the riders appears to pull out a pistol and shoots the influencer point blank.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Then Indiana Jones looks at him, sighs, pulls out a gun and just shoots him.
    — Jim Bowden, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of shoots
Noun
  • Those roads and trails are often where vehicles become vulnerable to artillery, drones, mines, and small arms fire.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 14 Aug. 2026
  • According to the database, Germany also financed a transfer of 12 PzH-2000 155mm artillery guns from Qatar that were delivered in 2024 and 2025.
    — Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of artillery
Verb
  • Taiwan has stepped up the intensity of the Han Kuang drills, incorporating reservists and more civilians into the exercises with a focus on real-world scenarios.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • With Bosa yet to practice in team drills all camp and sidelined the past week with knee tendinitis amid his ACL comeback, the 49ers need to accelerate Height’s participation.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of drills
Noun
  • Separately, Netanyahu’s office said work was underway on a new tent city, funded by the United Arab Emirates, in an area that the IDF had cleared of Hamas and weaponry.
    — Dan Williams, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2026
  • The plot of the original YouTube series began to follow the Skibidi Toilets, a conqueror race armed with futuristic weaponry and an intention to colonize the galaxy.
    — Kyle MacNeill, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of weaponry

Browse Nearby Words

gunrunners
guns
gunsel
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Cite this Entry

“Guns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guns. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of guns for Spanish Speakers

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