machine-gun

1 of 3

adjective

ma·​chine-gun mə-ˈshēn-ˌgən 

: characterized by rapidity and sharpness : rapid-fire

a comic's machine-gun delivery

machine-gun

2 of 3

verb

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

A few years later someone machine-gunned to death the prosecutor who wanted to try the group for killing the soldiers.

—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

machine gun

3 of 3

noun

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 Web

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

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

: an automatic gun capable of continuous firing

machine-gun verb

machine gunner noun