This page gathers the 361 dictionary entries belonging to the domain “Weaponry”, as labelled by Wiktionary. Each word leads to its full entry: definitions, etymology, pronunciation, examples. Page 1 of 4: from “22” to “dragoon”.
- 22 noun The .22 Long Rifle calibre.
- 303 noun The .303 British rifle calibre.
- a adj Atom; atomic.
- acoustic adj Of an explosive mine or other weapon, able to be set off by sound waves.
- action noun The way in which cartridges are loaded, locked, and extracted from the mechanism.
- aerosol bomb noun A type of thermobaric weapon.
- air defense noun The use of systems, equipment, and personnel to prevent or reduce the impact of an attack by enemy aircraft or missiles.
- airshoot noun A shot at something that is in the air, or a shot in midair.
- amplitude noun The horizontal line which measures the distance to which a projectile is thrown; the range.
- antikickback adj Serving to prevent kickbacks (accidents with machinery).
- ar noun An AR-15 personal semi-automatic rifle, M-16 assault rifle, M-4 carbine, derivative or related gun; the Armalite AR family and derivatives.
- arm verb To become prepared for action; to activate.
- astragal noun A circular molding near the mouth of a cannon.
- auto sear noun A device which allows for a closed-bolt self-loading firearm to reliably function in fully automatic fire by preventing the hammer or…
- autofire verb To fire automatically.
- autoload verb To load (firearms or artillery) automatically.
- autoloader noun A semi-automatic firearm.
- autoloading noun The act or process of loading automatically, as done by an autoloader.
- backbore verb To modify (a weapon's barrel) so as to increase the bore diameter.
- backstrap noun The rearmost surface applied to the grip especially of a pistol below a possible beavertail.
- ball noun A jacketed non-expanding bullet, typically of military origin.
- banana clip noun A curved ammunition clip for the AK-47 assault rifle.
- barrelled adj Having a barrel or specified number of barrels.
- bascule noun The portion of a breech-loading firearm that pivots open in order to allow access to the chamber.
- base cap noun The part of a weapon that is attached to the base end of the barrel or casing and holds a firing pin.
- basilisk noun A type of large brass cannon.
- baton noun A short stout club used primarily by policemen.
- bazooka noun A shoulder-held rocket launcher used as an antitank weapon, developed by America during World War II and so-called from its resemblance to…
- belt noun A device that holds and feeds cartridges into a belt-fed weapon.
- belt-fed adj Supplied with ammunition by means of a belt.
- billhook noun A medieval polearm, fitted to a long handle, sometimes with an L-shaped tine or a spike protruding from the side or the end of the blade…
- blackjack noun A small, flat, blunt, usually leather-covered weapon loaded with heavy material such as lead or ball bearings, intended to inflict a blow…
- blank noun Ellipsis of blank cartridge.
- blasting cap noun A small, metal tube or shell containing a detonating charge and is used to initiate the detonation of other explosives.
- blaze away verb To fire (firearms) repeatedly.
- blow forward noun A firearm action where the propellant gas pressure and the friction of the bullet traveling down the bore drag the whole gun barrel forward…
- blowback noun A type of action where the pressure from the fired cartridge blows a sliding mechanism backward to extract the fired cartridge, chamber…
- boltface noun The front surface of a bolt in a firearm or back of the firing chamber, against which the cartridge rests.
- boot noun A hard or rigid case for a long firearm, typically moulded to the shape of the gun.
- bore sight noun An optical device, mounted on or near the end of a firearm's barrel, used to align the sights with the bore.
- boresight verb To use a boresight to align a gun barrel with the gun's sights.
- bourrelet noun An accurately machined portion around the diameter of a shell of a gun, which acts to increase accuracy of projectile fit to the barrel.
- boxlock noun A style of double-barrelled shotgun with concealed, self-cocking hammers that use a break-open action.
- breech noun The part of a cannon or other firearm behind the chamber.
- breechloading adj Describing a breechloader gun: one that has ammunition loaded from the rear of the barrel rather than where it will exit.
- brick noun A carton of 500 rimfire cartridges, which forms the approximate size and shape of a brick.
- bridge mount noun A sight mount with a strong metal frame between the rings, used on large-caliber rifles to negate the effects of recoil on accuracy.
- bull noun The central portion of a target, inside the inner and magpie.
- bullpup noun A firearm configuration in which the trigger is located forward of the magazine and breech, as opposed to a conventional configuration in…
- bullseye noun The centre of a target, inside the inner and magpie.
- bump stock noun An attachment on a gun used to make it fire repeatedly by using the gun's recoil to pull the trigger, modifying it to function in a similar…
- bunny buster noun a firearm, or type of ammunition, intended for rabbit shooting.
- burst mode noun A mode enabling the firing of a predetermined number of rounds with a single pull of the trigger.
- butt spike noun A small blade or spike on the rear end of a spear, used as a counterbalance and as a backup if the spear broke.
- calibrate verb To measure the caliber of a tube or gun.
- caltrop noun A metal object, usually small, with spikes arranged so that, when thrown onto the ground, one always faces up as a threat to pedestrians…
- cannelure noun A ringlike groove, such as that around the cylinder of an elongated bullet for small arms to contain a lubricant, or around the rotating…
- cannonball noun A spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore cannon.
- cartouche noun A paper cartridge.
- cartridge noun The package consisting of the bullet, primer, and casing containing gunpowder; a round of ammunition.
- cast noun The measurement of the angle of a shotgun stock from a top-view center line, used to align the shotgun to the shooter's eye.
- cat's-paw noun A metal set of claws worn over the hand or wielded in the hand used to remove skin and flesh.
- catapeltic adj Pertaining to a catapult or catapults.
- chamber noun The area holding the ammunition round at the initiation of its discharge.
- charge noun A measured amount of powder and/or shot in a cartridge.
- charger noun A speed loader that holds several cartridges together in a single unit for easier loading of a firearm's magazine.
- Chicago piano noun The Thompson submachine gun.
- chicken wing verb To shoot in a chicken wing stance, i.e. with both elbows positioned inline with the neck.
- choke tube noun An internally tapering metal cylinder attached to the muzzle of a shotgun, designed to constrict the spreading pattern of the shot pellets.
- chronograph verb To make an accurate measurement of the speed of a projectile.
- clay noun A clay pigeon.
- clear verb To unload a firearm, or undergo an unloading procedure, in order to prevent negligent discharge; for safety reasons, to check whether one's…
- cocked adj Of a firearm or crossbow; to have the cock lifted or prepared to be fired.
- cocoa powder noun A form of brown gunpowder, also known as brown powder.
- cold adj Not loaded with a round of live ammunition.
- concentrator noun A frame or ring of wire or hard paper fitting into the cartridge case used in some shotguns, and holding the shot together when discharged…
- conical noun A cone-shaped bullet.
- contact shot noun A gunshot executed in such a way that the muzzle of the firearm is in direct contact with a body at the moment of discharge.
- controlled variable time noun A type of artillery fuze that has a mechanical timer which activates the radar when it is near the target.
- conventional adj Pertaining to a weapon which is not a weapon of mass destruction.
- corn noun Bullets, ammunition, and charge and discharge of firearms.
- crowbill noun Synonym of bec de corbin (“poleaxe with a modified hammerhead and a spike mounted on the top of the pole”).
- crown verb To widen the opening of the barrel.
- crusher gauge noun An instrument for measuring the explosive force of gunpowder, etc., by its effect in compressing a piece of metal.
- cycle noun A discharge of a taser.
- cyclic adj Firing at its full cyclic rate.
- cyclic rate noun The rate at which an automatic firearm will fire if its firing mechanism is held down, causing the delay between successive shots to be the…
- dagger noun A stabbing weapon, similar to a sword but with a short, double-edged blade.
- Damascus barrel noun A gun barrel formed by twisting and welding strips of metal around a hard die; no longer commonly used now due to its inability to handle…
- déculassement noun An accidental blowing off of, or other serious damage to, the breechblock of a gun.
- deflection change noun A change in azimuth setting applying to all guns in a battery when the target moves, or when a shift is made from one target to another. A…
- deprimed adj Pertaining to a cartridge missing is priming/primer
- disintegrating link noun A pressed metal or plastic link, used to join cartridges for a machine gun, which is expelled when the cartridge is removed during loading.
- dog noun A cock, as of a gun.
- doghead noun That part of a matchlock or flintlock gun or rifle that holds the burning fuse or flint and applies it to the gunpowder.
- dope noun Ballistic data on previously fired rounds, used to calculate the required hold over a target.
- double action adj Requiring only a trigger pull to both cock and fire.
- download verb To load a gun (especially a muzzle-loader) with less propellant than its designed load.
- dragon noun A type of musket with a short, large-calibre barrel with a flared muzzle, often hooked to a swivel attached to a soldier's belt.
- dragoon noun Synonym of dragon (“a type of musket with a short, large-calibre barrel and a flared muzzle, metaphorically exhaling fire like a mythical…