gun

«gun» in Mova's school dictionary: a weapon that fires bullets or other objects through a… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a gun, guns); verb (gun, guns, gunned, gunning — informal)

meaning for a pupil

1) A gun is a weapon that fires bullets or other objects through a metal tube using explosive force. tree →

2) A gun is a tool that shoots something out, like a water gun, glue gun or starting gun. tree →

3) To gun an engine (informal) is to make it go very fast. tree →

4) To be gunning for someone (informal) is to be trying to harm or criticise them. tree →

sense in the lessons

In safety lessons, the rule is: if you ever find a real gun, STOP, DON'T TOUCH, LEAVE the area and TELL a grown-up; never assume it is a toy or unloaded. Toy guns should look clearly like toys. In sport, a starting gun begins a race. In history, guns changed how wars were fought. Phrases: «water gun», «glue gun», «starting gun», «jump the gun» (start too soon), «stick to your guns» (not change your mind).

examples

• If you find a gun, don't touch it; tell an adult right away. tree →
• We had a water gun fight in the garden. tree →
• The race began with the starting gun. tree →
• Use the glue gun only with a teacher's help. tree →
• Don't jump the gun; wait until everyone is ready. tree →
• She stuck to her guns and kept telling the truth. tree →
• Police in the UK usually don't carry guns. tree →
• The pirate ship fired its guns. tree →
• Niels took his gun with him. tree →

note

Plural guns. Laws on guns are very different between countries: in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand few people have them, while in the USA more homes do. A safety rule for children everywhere: never touch a gun, even if a friend says it's fine.

In the corpora

• Aim water guns at the body, not the face, and only at people who are playing too.
• Let an adult help with a hot glue gun, and never touch the nozzle or the hot glue, because it burns skin.
• Inside jokes and secret handshakes — bump, spin, clap, finger guns — tie friends together.
• The war brought new machines such as tanks, aeroplanes, submarines and machine guns, which made it far deadlier than earlier wars.
• Countries have very different rules about guns.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «gun» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.