to gun
- verb
- /ɡʌn/
- The soldier gunned at the target during the training exercise.
Examples
-
You got to just gun it, you know what I mean?
-
Your partner guns the truck, takes the whole wall with him.
-
His mouth twists into a smile as he guns the engine and leaves.
Fiction book (1997) -
By the time I reached the car, Jack was already gunning the gas.
Fiction book (1991) -
Makes his choice and guns the jet ski straight at Kenny.
Fiction book (1998) -
Okay, gun it!
-
The remaining thug has now dropped back in the Mercedes and guns it after him...
Fiction book (1998) -
Max grabs Ashoka, who breaks free and guns the cycle down a side street.
Fiction book (1992) -
We came to a hill, and Matt downshifted, gunning it over the rise.
Fiction book (1995) -
The fighter jets gun it and overtake the smaller planes in front of them.
Fiction book (1996)
Synonyms
Fire a gun at a person or animal to try to kill
Start shooting at people or things with a gun
To fire a gun or hit something with a bullet
To shoot someone, often causing serious harm or death
Shoot many bullets very quickly at someone or something
Shoot birds, animals, or clay targets with a gun from the shoulder
Idioms
- NSFW
To say as a joke that you will kill yourself because you feel very frustrated
- Offensive
To say you want to kill yourself to show you feel very desperate, often offensive
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
A small device that gives a short electric shock to stop a person moving for a short time
A gun that shoots small paint-filled balls used in a game where players mark each other
- Specialized
A part of a ship, plane, or vehicle that holds guns and turns to aim them
- Archaic
A short, powerful automatic gun used by soldiers and criminals in the early 1900s
- Specialized
A protected place built where a gun is placed and fired, often for defense
- Specialized
A device that fires small gas containers like tear gas to make crowds move away
- Specialized
A device that makes and focuses a thin beam of electrons in a television or microscope
- Specialized
A large movable weapon soldiers use on the battlefield to fire at enemy troops
- Archaic
A room on a warship where junior officers sleep, study and sometimes keep guns
A device that shoots a long pointed spear to catch large sea animals like whales or fish
A .45-caliber automatic gun used by soldiers, police, and gangsters in the 20th century
- Archaic
A belt-fed machine gun used by US forces in World War II and the Korean War
- Archaic
An armored vehicle with a large gun on a tank body that supports soldiers and fights tanks
- Specialized
A rifle used by soldiers that can fire many shots quickly and has a large magazine
- Archaic
A suspended gun that measures bullet speed from its backward swing when fired
- Jargon
Illegal actions by companies in a merger before regulators approve, such as sharing secret business information
- Specialized
A long, thin microphone that you point at a sound to record it from far away
How Violent
Surface Forms
Etymology
Gun as a verb comes from the noun: to 'gun' someone is to use a gun to shoot them, so the verb simply means to fire a weapon. That's why phrases like 'gunned down' describe being shot.