From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsidearmside‧arm /ˈsaɪd-ɑːm $ -ɑːrm/ noun [countable] PMWWEAPONa weapon carried or worn at someone’s side, for example a gun or sword
Examples from the Corpus
sidearm• She unbuttoned his holster, and took out his sidearm.• Not many people had grenades, and many relied on sidearms.• She had forgotten the sidearm, which she had kept sand-free but not discharged in months.• He had expected the men and women in uniforms, the sidearms and AK47s. 