assault rifle
nounDefinition of assault rifle
: any of various intermediate-range, magazine-fed military rifles (such as the AK-47) that can be set for automatic or semiautomatic fire
also
: a rifle that resembles a military assault rifle but is designed to allow only semiautomatic fire
Examples of assault rifle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Clay begs for Tyler to reconsider, while Tyler points an assault rifle at him. — Rachel Paige, refinery29.com, "Tyler's 13 Reasons Why Season 2 Struggle Isn't Going To Just Go Away In Season 3," 24 Aug. 2019 New Middletown Police Chief Vincent D’Egidio said two assault rifles, rounds of ammunition, a gas mask, bulletproof armor and anti-Semitic propaganda were recovered from Reardon’s home. — Deanna Paul, Washington Post, "Three days, three caches of weapons, three potential mass shooters thwarted, authorities say," 19 Aug. 2019 The suspects were carrying an assault rifle, semi-automatic handgun and a knife, police officials said. — David Taylor, Houston Chronicle, "Dayton teen arrested in connection with aggravated robbery of Stripes," 31 July 2019 Washington folded paper into the shape of an assault rifle, made a shank from a comb and threatened to throw urine and hurt staffers, Jefferson said. — Cassandra Jaramillo, Dallas News, "Dallas teen accused in series of rapes, slaying of 23-year-old woman will face trial as an adult," 24 July 2019 The encounter turned into an eight-hour standoff between the police and Ramos, who allegedly wielded two assault rifles, a handgun and a shotgun and repeatedly exchanged gunfire with law enforcement. — Alexei Koseff, SFChronicle.com, "Man accused of killing rookie Sacramento police officer appears in court," 24 June 2019 Officers finally went to the house with the woman at 5:41 p.m. Officers found two assault rifles, a handgun and a shot gun in the main home as well as two weapons in the adjacent house. — Madeline Holcombe, CNN, "Shooting suspect watched officers on camera as he fired. He killed a 26-year-old trainee, police say," 22 June 2019 American weapons are routinely funneled into the country aboard ships, flooding cities like Kingston, the capital, where high-grade assault rifles are wielded by warring gangs. — Azam Ahmed, New York Times, "One Handgun, 9 Murders: How American Firearms Cause Carnage Abroad," 25 Aug. 2019 The real answer to mass shootings is an out-and-out nationwide ban on buying — and possessing — assault rifles. — Willie Brown, SFChronicle.com, "Democrats hand Trump a gift on guns. He may not be smart enough to take it," 24 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'assault rifle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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