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 2 of 4: from “drop at comb” to “mushroom”.
- drop at comb noun The vertical distance between the top of the shotgun's rib (barrel) and the top of the stock at the comb, where the shooter's cheek rests.
- drum magazine noun A high-capacity cylindrical magazine for firearms, storing rounds of ammunition in a central spiral.
- dry fire verb To discharge a weapon without ammunition in the chamber.
- dum dum noun A soft point or hollow point bullet, designed to expand when it hits its target and therefore cause more serious damage.
- fan verb To perform a maneuver that involves flicking the top rear of an old-style gun.
- fanning noun A shooting technique in which the shooter uses one hand to hold a revolver and pull the trigger, while using the other hand to cock the…
- fascine knife noun A large, heavy knife or short sword used by 17th- to 19th-century artillery and infantry soldiers as a sidearm and a tool for cutting…
- fireball noun A bag or ball filled with combustible material which is thrown as a weapon or to set something alight.
- firing pin noun The part of the firing mechanism which strikes the cartridge's primer in order to ignite the gunpowder.
- flag verb To point the muzzle of a firearm at a person or object one does not intend to fire on.
- flamberge noun A European sword, typically a greatsword, which had a wavy blade, possibly to increase the cutting surface or for aid in parrying.
- flash-to-bang time noun The period of time between when light is first observed and when the sound of the (nuclear or other) detonation is heard.
- flip noun The tendency of a gun's barrel to jerk about at the moment of firing.
- floorgrip noun A device used to steady firing and counter the effects of recoil, resulting in far more accurate fire when shooting in full auto mode. It…
- flute noun A semicylindrical vertical groove, as in a pillar, in plaited cloth, or in a rifle barrel to cut down the weight.
- flyer noun A stray shot away from the group on a target.
- forearm noun A section of the weapon between the receiver and the muzzle, used to hold the firearm steady.
- forecharge noun The shot in the forward part of a firearm cartridge.
- foregrip noun A pistol grip-type forestock on the front of a firearm that improves handling characteristics, counters the effects of recoil, and is…
- forty-five noun A .45-caliber firearm.
- forty-four adj (Of a gun) firing a 0.44 inch calibre bullet.
- free float verb to alter a firearm so that no part of the barrel touches the stock.
- frizel noun A movable furrowed piece of steel struck by the flint, to throw sparks into the pan, in an early form of flintlock.
- full choke adj Having a tightly constrained choke.
- full house adj Having ammunition loaded to full allowable power, usually in reference to magnum handgun cartridges and shotgun shells.
- full metal jacket noun A bullet having a complete covering of copper over the lead core.
- full-bore adj Having a relatively large caliber.
- fully-automatic adj That loads itself and fires continuously.
- functioning time noun Of ordnance, the amount of time required for the fuze to detonate after impact or after a preset time.
- furniture noun The stock and forearm of a weapon.
- gaffle noun A portable fork of iron or wood in which the heavy musket formerly in use was rested that it might be accurately aimed and fired.
- gaining twist noun In rifled firearms, a twist of the grooves, which increases regularly from the breech to the muzzle.
- gauge noun A unit of measurement which describes how many spheres of bore diameter of a shotgun can be had from one pound of lead; 12 gauge is roughly…
- ghost bullet noun A bullet that is shot by an unseen assailant or one that cannot be seen or heard when it is shot.
- Glock switch noun A device which modifies the firing system of a Glock-pattern pistol by bypassing the semiautomatic catch, enabling fully automatic fire.
- gravity bomb noun An unguided, freefall aerial bomb that follows a ballistic trajectory determined solely by gravity, without a guidance system.
- green charge noun A mixture of ingredients used in gunpowder before it undergoes an intensive mixing in the incorporating mill.
- green cross noun A chemical warfare pulmonary agent used during World War I.
- hair noun A locking spring or other safety device in the lock of a rifle, etc., capable of being released by a slight pressure on a hair-trigger.
- hakapik noun A hunting implement, a long pole with a pick and hammer on the end, used by sealers to bludgeon seals and drag their carcasses to the…
- half-jacket noun A short bullet jacket which leaves some of the bullet in contact with the bore.
- halfcock noun The position when the cock of a gun is at the first notch.
- hammer noun A moving part of a firearm that strikes the firing pin to discharge a gun.
- hammerless adj Without a visible hammer; said of a gun having a cock or striker concealed from sight, and out of the way of an accidental touch.
- hand noun The small part of a gunstock near the lock, which is grasped by the hand in taking aim.
- hang fire noun The situation when a gun does not immediately fire when the trigger is pulled, but may fire shortly after.
- headless adj Rimless, not having a cartridge case rim (flange).
- headspace verb To occupy a headspace.
- headstamp noun The identification marking on the base (bottom) of a cartridge casing.
- heat-seeking adj Of a missile or rocket, able to detect and follow the heat emitted by an aircraft engine or rocket.
- heel noun The back, upper part of the stock.
- heelplate noun Synonym of buttplate.
- high-powered adj Of a weapon, of a caliber or power that exceeds the typical threshold.
- hit home verb To strike its target with damaging effect.
- holdover noun The distance (at target) by which a rifle scope is aimed higher than the intended point of impact in order to compensate for bullet drop…
- hollow point noun A bullet with a small hole drilled or molded in the tip (nose), designed to expand when it hits its target and therefore cause more damage.
- holy-water sprinkle noun A 16th-century weapon consisting of a heavy ball set with spikes attached rigidly to a staff, used mainly in England; a morning star.
- IBM noun Initialism of intercontinental ballistic missile.
- inlet verb To carve the wooden stock of a firearm so as to position the metal components in it.
- inner noun The 2nd circle on a target, between the bull (or bull's eye) and magpie.
- isomer bomb noun a type of theoretical radiological nuclear weapon that relies on an induced rapid change in the state of nuclear isomers to generate an…
- jacketed hollow point noun A lead bullet with a metal jacket that surrounds the whole side, and a hollowed out or dented in front tip.
- jacketed soft point noun A type of lead bullet with a partial metal jacket, where the tip leaves the core exposed without jacketing.
- JSP noun Initialism of jacketed soft point.
- junk wad noun A plug made of oakum bound with spun yarn and designed to keep the powder and shot in place when loading a gun or cartridge.
- katana noun A type of Japanese longsword, having a single edge and slight curvature, historically used by samurai and ninja.
- keyhole verb To strike a target after wobbling in flight so that the long axis of the bullet does not follow the line of flight, typically due to…
- keyholing noun The tendency of a bullet fired down an excessively large barrel to wobble in flight and leave a keyhole-shaped puncture in the target.
- kickback noun Recoil; a sudden backward motion, usually in the direction of the operator.
- land noun The space between the rifling grooves in a gun.
- lapping noun The process of rubbing away the lands, or metal between the grooves of a rifled gun, to increase the bore.
- lat noun A staff, particularly one of an Indian kind.
- limbo noun A type of antisubmarine mortar installed on naval vessels.
- limp-wrist verb To hold a handgun with an insufficiently-firm-and-stiff grip while firing, allowing recoil to move the frame of the gun too far rearward…
- line of fire noun A direction in which a weapon fires.
- line of sight noun The line which passes through the front and rear sight, at any elevation, when they are sighted at an object.
- lock noun The firing mechanism.
- lock time noun The time, usually measured in milliseconds, from when the trigger is pulled until the firing pin strikes the primer.
- loitering munition noun A munition, often a UAV, that waits passively around the target area and attacks only once a target is located.
- longarm noun A long gun.
- loudener noun A device affixed to the muzzle of a firearm that enhances its sound profile by loudening its firing exhaust report, and increase its…
- M1 noun A semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War.
- M4 noun Ellipsis of M4 carbine, a military assault rifle.
- mag book noun A container used to store and carry ammunition clips.
- mag dump noun The act of firing at a target continuously or repeatedly until the magazine of ammunition is empty.
- magazine gun noun A type of portable firearm consisting of a chamber holding cartridges which are set into position for firing automatically.
- magnum noun A powerful firearm cartridge, often derived from a shorter, less powerful cartridge calibre that uses the same bullet.
- magpie noun In the sport of fullbore target rifle, the third circle on a target, between the inner and outer.
- main gauche noun A type of parrying dagger.
- Makarov noun A Soviet service pistol, the PM
- mallet noun A weapon resembling the tool, but typically much larger.
- maxim noun The Maxim gun, a British machine gun of various calibres used by the British army from 1889 until World War I.
- metal jacket noun The outer casing or covering of certain types of ammunition, specifically the casing that surrounds the lead or other core material.
- mil-dot noun A type of firearm scope reticle using a one-milliradian dot as an aiming point and reference for range and holdover estimation.
- misfire verb To fail to discharge properly.
- Mississippi rifle noun The Model 1841 percussion rifle, a muzzleloading rifle used in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.
- morning star noun A weapon consisting of a heavy ball set with spikes attached rigidly to a staff, in contrast to a flail.
- morris noun A type of pike.
- mousetrap gun noun A device patented by James Alexander Williams in 1882, consisting of a frame with a handgun or revolver rigged to fire when triggered by an…
- mushroom verb To form the shape of a mushroom when striking a soft target.