From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgungun1 /ɡʌn/ ●●● S2 W2 noun [countable] 1 PMWa metal weapon which shoots bullets or shellshave/hold/carry a gun I could see he was carrying a gun. I’ve never fired a gun in my life. Jake was pointing a gun at the door. Two policemen were killed in a gun battle.2 → put/hold a gun to somebody’s head3 DTa tool that forces out small objects or a liquid by pressure a paint gun a nail gun → flashgun, spray gun4 (also starting pistol) a gun which is fired into the air at the start of a race5 → big/top gun6 → hired gun7 → with all guns blazing → son of a gun, → stick to your guns at stick1, → jump the gun at jump1(11), → be going great guns at great1(11), → spike somebody’s guns at spike2(6)
Examples from the Corpus
gun• You know how to shoot a gun, she said.• In letters written from jail, he denies using a gun in the robbery.• Police said Stanton was hit on the back of the head with a gun during the ordeal.• A light machine gun opened up, then another.• Either the machine gun had been wiped out or the enemy had gotten smart.• He held the gun as if he didn't know what it was, and looked at her.• His bulging eyes fixing her maniacally as he advanced, his hand on the gun at his belt.gun battle• His parents were told at first that he was hit in the chest during a gun battle.• On April 28 eight people died and more than 20 were injured in a gun battle in the village of Troitskaya.• Seven police officers were injured in a gun battle.• Khosana was shot dead in an ensuing gun battle with Ciskeian troops.• Last Sunday 22 people died and 52 were injured in gun battles and by landmines in the state.• After 10 days of gun battles, Federal troops were called out to quell the violence.• But none of that happened without running gun battles with the centralizers in Washington.• In the gun battle that followed all the rebels were shot dead except one-17-year-old Bhagwati Chaudhary.gungun2 verb (gunned, gunning) 1 → be gunning for somebody2 → be gunning for something3 [transitive] American English informalTTCFAST/QUICK to make the engine of a car go very fast by pressing the accelerator very hard → gun somebody ↔ down→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
gun• Yes, well, when one has spoken out for freedom against dictatorship there are other people gunning for one.Origin gun1 (1300-1400) Perhaps from Gunnilda, a woman's name, from Old Norse Gunnhildr 