National Rifle Association
9
5.9
- proper noun
- /ˈnæʃənəl ˈraɪfəl əˌsəʊsiˈeɪʃən/
:
Asociación Nacional del Rifle
- The National Rifle Association works tirelessly to advocate for gun ownership rights in America.
- NRA, the National Rifle Association
- lobbyist for the National Rifle Association
- National Rifle Association annual meeting
Examples
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The National Rifle Association has historically been involved in lobbying state legislators to kill gun control measures.
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Americans see the gun as a symbol of independence—even in 2012, the National Rifle Association is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the country.
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The National Rifle Association has produced a film which you are sure to find of great interest.
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The National Rifle Association is funding this case.
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In the first example, the National Rifle Association runs an advertisement on November 2, three days before the general election.
Academic text (1996) -
-NRA- Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America's oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group.
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A survey of National Rifle Association members and non-affiliated gun owners conducted by a prominent Republican pollster shows that there is broad support for certain provisions that would restrict the sale of guns.
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The Utah Shooting Sports Council, a National Rifle Association affiliate, takes the position that the only gun-free zones are those enumerated by state law or covered by federal law, according to Scott Hengen, government liaison for the organization.
Academic text (1996) -
Just ten days after the Columbine killings, despite the pleas of a community in mourning, Charlton Heston came to Denver and held a large pro-gun rally for the National Rifle Association.
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In the key battleground states, Obama's celebrated network of organizing experts and neighborhood captains is being challenged by a conservative coalition that includes the National Rifle Association, the billionaire-backed Americans for Prosperity, and a newly muscular College Republicans organization with a $16 million budget.
Blog text (18)
Synonyms
116
5.2
An organization that supports the right to own guns and is against government gun rules
Surface Forms
Morphology
national + rifle + association
The compound name is transparently built from 'national' + 'rifle' + 'association', so a learner who knows those words can infer it refers to a country-level organization concerned with rifles. The specific political stance (promoting gun rights and opposing regulation) is not derivable from the words alone, but the basic referent as a national rifle organization is predictable.
Etymology
The name National Rifle Association comes from its original purpose: National means across the country, Rifle is the gun members used, and Association is a group that meets, so it began as a countrywide group where people practised shooting and taught each other. So today National Rifle Association refers to the American organization that promotes 'gun rights' and opposes many gun laws.