Thesaurus results for GUNS

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

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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

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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

Until the late 1970s, when the Sandinistas were still a ragged, left-wing guerrilla movement, the United States provided guns, money and military training to the right-wing political dynasty that ruled Nicaragua with an iron fist. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026 Detectives are also investigating where the shooters got the guns. — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 6 Oct. 2026 About the shot in the trailer where Garfield’s Altman goes into a bunker with a bunch of guns? — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026 Video first obtained by ABC News shows Coast Guard agents equipped in tactical gear boarding the ship, guns drawn, while a separate Coast Guard boat goes alongside of it. — ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026 Aided by both banks’ employees buying time, citizens had taken guns and ammunition from the hardware store. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Oct. 2026 But tracing where guns came from and whether they have been used in other crimes is time-consuming. — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026 Gun buying age The Marjory Stoneman Douglas safety package also prohibited young Floridians from buying guns. — Romy Ellenbogen Herald, Miami Herald, 29 Sep. 2026 In two cases the thieves pointed guns at car owners who confronted them. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 29 Sep. 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

Noun

The widespread use of arrests, tear gas and riot-control weapons against teenagers is fueling defiance and angering some parents and teachers.

— NICOLAS GARRIGA, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026
Washington has placed greater emphasis on producing critical weapons at higher rates.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of weapons

Verb

The armed immigration agent then shoots Melanie in response, and his partner subsequently dies.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026
Even when his characters do use a computer screen, Okita shoots so tight on the cursor and characters, even their intricate composition appears tactile and sculpted.

— James Marsh, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of shoots

Noun

Phoenix has also invested at least $40 million in Reshef Technologies, a company producing electronic fuzes for artillery shells.

— Allegra Goodwin, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
On a hot Saturday, Pawlikowski and I revisited those heights—the slopes from which, for almost four years, starting in the spring of 1992, Serbian artillery pounded Sarajevo, which lies vulnerably cupped in the valley below.

— Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of artillery

Verb

Fusion hardware drills deeper At the heart of the system is a gyrotron, a specialized vacuum electronic device capable of producing high-power millimeter waves.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2026
As his colleagues look on, Brunson, in his desk chair, drills the shot across the room.

— William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of drills

Noun

Police know how to hit, kick, hogtie, push, asphyxiate, and operate military weaponry.

— Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
This rural Texas police department has, for no reason at all, a battle tank, evidence that surge in money and weaponry in the wake of 9/11 has these cops too excited to finally see some action.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of weaponry

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gunrunners

guns

gunsel

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“Guns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guns. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of guns

noun

verb

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