machine-gun
adjective
ma·chine-gun
| \ mə-ˈshēn-ˌgən
\
\
Definition of machine-gun
(Entry 1 of 2)
: characterized by rapidity and sharpness : rapid-fire
a comic's machine-gun delivery
machine gun
nounDefinition of machine gun (Entry 2 of 2)
: a gun for sustained rapid fire that uses bullets
broadly
: an automatic weapon
Keep scrolling for more
Examples of machine-gun in a Sentence
Noun
They heard the sound of machine-gun fire.Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Its most fearsome route, M-16—echoing the name of the machine gun, because of the frozen detritus that routinely showers down it—has only been completed once, 20 years ago, by a three-man team during a perilous five-day effort. — Nick Heil, Outside Online, "The Tragedy on Howse Peak," 28 Aug. 2019 The first French column to enter the city reached Luxembourg at 10:20 a.m. The Germans, the collaborationist militia and the French Gestapo organization opened fire with machine guns, rifles and pistols and the battle was on. — Washington Post, "AP Was There: Allied forces liberate Paris from Nazis," 25 Aug. 2019 He was armed with a machine gun and wearing a bullet-proof vest. — Edmund H. Mahony, courant.com, "New film revisits man behind infamous Wells Fargo robbery in West Hartford in 1983 by Puerto Rican nationalists," 24 Aug. 2019 Tyler pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful transfer and possession of a machine gun on Feb. 12. — Jon Kelvey, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Taneytown elevates new police chief from within, filling role vacant since federal conviction of past top cop," 13 Aug. 2019 An unprotected all-terrain vehicle, the MRZR left those in it easy targets for the gunner just 50 yards away with a Soviet-era machine gun called a PKM capable of firing 250 rounds a minute. — Sig Christenson, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonio airman’s quick thinking saved 3 in ambush," 18 July 2019 Joseph Iscovitz picked up a machine gun to defend his country against attacking Japanese planes on a date that lives in infamy — Dec. 7, 1941. — Larry Barszewski, sun-sentinel.com, "Joseph Iscovitz, one of few remaining Pearl Harbor survivors, dies at 103," 10 July 2019 Visitors can practice on four simulators, one each for a handgun, M2 machine gun, long-range rifle and shotgun. — USA TODAY, "Kacey Musgraves, sneaker flap, skiing in July: News from around our 50 states," 3 July 2019 In 1999 the Serbs shot down a U.S. Predator drone by flying a helicopter next to it and firing a machine gun out the side door. — Taylor Dinerman, WSJ, "Defend Our Drones," 26 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'machine-gun.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for machine-gun
machine-gun
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of machine-gun
(Entry 1 of 2)
informal
: very quick
machine gun
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of machine gun (Entry 2 of 2)
: a gun that is able to shoot many bullets very quickly one after the other
See the full definition for machine gun in the English Language Learners Dictionary
machine gun
nounKids Definition of machine gun
: a gun that fires bullets continuously and rapidly