ma·chine-gun
mə-ˈshēn-ˌgən 
: characterized by rapidity and sharpness : rapid-fire
a comic's machine-gun delivery
machine-gunned; machine-gunning; machine-guns
: 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
plural machine guns
: a gun for sustained rapid fire that uses bullets
broadly
: an automatic weapon
Examples of machine-gun in a Sentence
Noun
They heard the sound of machine-gun fire.
Recent Examples on the WebAlfred Konuwa, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2024
There was something faintly but indelibly Trumpian about this maneuver, in that the presumptive Republican nominee has also fought concerns about his age with displays of machine-gun pugnacity.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 9 July 2024
San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2023
Conor Murray, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
Also overhead was a mention of silencers and one machine gun.
—Lauren De Young, The Arizona Republic, 23 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for machine-gun 
Adjective
Instead, Shibata resumed his chops with machine-gun chops that popped the Tacoma Dome.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2024
There was something faintly but indelibly Trumpian about this maneuver, in that the presumptive Republican nominee has also fought concerns about his age with displays of machine-gun pugnacity.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 9 July 2024
Verb
As someone who grew up in the Dodgers’ family and now can’t stand the sight of them, who wants to beat them as Buddy Rich might machine-gun his snare drum.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2023
Noun
According to an indictment filed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, charges against the five men include conspiracy to commit murder for hire resulting in death and the use of a machine gun resulting in death.
—Conor Murray, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
Also overhead was a mention of silencers and one machine gun.
—Lauren De Young, The Arizona Republic, 23 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for machine-gun
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'machine-gun.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near machine-gun
Cite this Entry
“Machine-gun.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/machine-gun. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
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