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Glite Dictionary
🏆 To try hard 🎯 To target
to gun for

to gun for

15 4.7
To try very hard to get a promotion or top position
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : aspirar a
  • Now, I can just feel all you Alphas out there gunning for this position as I speak.
  • gunning for your job
  • gunning for a contract
  • team is gunning for

And Terrell is MVPI mean what you guys have to do because every high school kid in America is gunning for that position.

Examples

  • One more thing, Alex is gunning for a seat in the olympic boat next year.

    Heart of Champions (2021)

  • Sounds like everyone's gunning for us.

    The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold (2006)

  • All eyes will be on the State Tennis Tournament next week as the boys gun for the championship.

    Cats & Dogs 3: Paws Unite (2020)

  • Deep down inside, I was gunning for under two hours.

    Blog text (27)

  • Is he gunning for a book deal?

    Blog text (4)

  • You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were gunning for my job.

    Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

  • There's gonna be a job in the booth next year, and I'm gunning for it.

    Trouble with the Curve (2012)

  • He's gunning for his third straight Gold Cup trophy and he's piloted his boat to four wins in five races so far this year.

    Madison (2005)

  • Among them was Fernando Alonso, the Ferrari star who is gunning for his third drivers' world title this weekend with Ferrari.

    Blog text (29)

  • Biden wasted little time gunning for the presidency against President Trump.

Synonyms

to fight
vsto gun for
∞ 1.0

To try hard to oppose or overcome something difficult

focuses on pursuing a goal or position rather than on resistance or opposition
to try for
vsto gun for
76 3.1

Make a strong effort to get something you want

tries with extra intensity aiming to win a role or position
to vie
vsto gun for
50 6.2

To try very hard to win the same thing as someone else

emphasizes individual intense effort to secure a role rather than direct rivalry
to shoot for
vsto gun for
  • Informal
30 3.9

To try to reach a big, difficult goal

aims at reachable goals with strong effort rather than extreme ambition
to play hardball
vsto gun for
  • Informal
26 7.0

Act aggressively to get what you want when you compete with others

tries hard to win a position but without using aggressive or ruthless methods
to go for the gold
vsto gun for
4 4.4

To try very hard to win first place in a competition

aims to win a position or goal rather than specifically seeking first place
to shoot for the stars
vsto gun for
  • Informal
2 4.7

Try to reach a very high and difficult goal

targets realistic roles or positions with determined effort rather than extreme aims
to give it the gun
vsto gun for
  • Informal
9.8

To try very hard and work quickly to finish something

uses strong effort specifically to obtain a role or goal rather than just finish

Antonyms

to give up
∞ 1.2

To stop trying to do something or accept defeat

to settle
166 3.6

To accept less than you wanted

How Determined

to gun for
  • Informal
15 4.7
to fight
∞ 1.0
to go for
272 2.5
to aim for
79 2.8
to try
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

gun for infinitive
gunned for past
gunned for past participle
gunning for present participle
guns for third person singular

Morphology

gun + for

There is a partial, metaphorical connection: 'gun' evokes aiming/targeting and 'for' marks the objective, so a learner could infer a sense like 'aim for' or 'go after' a goal. However, the specific nuance 'try very hard to achieve or win' and the colloquial verb usage require metaphorical extension and are not fully predictable from the literal constituents, making it only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Gun for can also come from the image of aiming a gun at a prize, with for showing the goal. So when someone is gunning for a job or a win, they are 'trying very hard to achieve or get' that goal.