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Colt

Colt

175 4.8
A small gun with a cylinder that turns to hold bullets
  • noun
  • /koʊlt/
translation icon : revólver Colt
  • The superintendent of the Lake Glen Development Company produced a Colt revolver and a box of cartridges.
  • .38-caliber Colt

Examples

  • "Bingo," he said, and dropped a Colt 45 on the desktop.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Behind her, on the kitchen counter, there's an empty space; the Colt Python is gone.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • But, heck, a Colt army issue will put a man down and keep him there.

  • Give me one of them Colts, Bill.

  • I inspected it to see how the Colt had managed this trick.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Major Forbes, give me your Colt revolver.

  • The familiar form of the Colt 45 is muffled but not obliterated.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Faron walks into the bedroom to find the large barrel of a Colt pistol pointed squarely in his face.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Frank points his foot-long patented Colt revolver at the oncoming locomotive.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • He proudly displayed his vintage Colt revolver on the mantelpiece.

Synonyms

pistol
vsColt
268 2.1

A small gun you hold and fire with one hand

is a named maker's version of that small one-handed gun
firearm
vsColt
258 4.5

A gun a person can hold and fire by hand

is a specific maker's model within that broader category
handgun
vsColt
187 4.6

A small gun that you hold and fire with one hand

is the specific manufacturer's example of that class of gun
revolver
vsColt
71 3.6

A small gun with a cylinder that holds several bullets so you can fire many times without reloading

is a branded model of that weapon made by a specific manufacturer
pistole
vsColt
  • Archaic
9.9

A small gun that often appears in old stories

is the modern manufactured model rather than the archaic name

Surface Forms

Colt singular
Colts plural

Etymology

Colt for a revolver comes from the name of its maker, Samuel Colt, whose company made famous handguns so people began to call the guns by his name. A helpful way to remember this is that colt also means a 'young horse' — quick and strong — and so today a Colt simply means a revolver that originally carried the maker's name.