gun for hire
2
9.1
- noun
- NSFW
:
sicario
- In the underworld, he was feared as a skilled gun for hire with a long list of successful missions.
Examples
-
I'm not sure what caused the shift but now, we're just guns for hire, providing services to the highest bidder.
-
Morgan had a notorious reputation as a gun for hire known for completing dangerous contracts.
-
Are you just another gun for hire willing to take on any job for the right price?
Synonyms
520
3.6
A person who fires a gun, sometimes paid to kill others
57
7.6
A person who criminals pay to kill someone
49
8.1
A person who is paid to kill someone, often with a gun
16
8.7
A person in the Old West who uses guns very well, often a sheriff or outlaw
5
9.7
A person who uses a gun to kill people for money or on orders
4
8.9
A person paid to kill someone
1
9.1
A woman who is paid to kill people, often using a gun
1
9.9
A person paid by criminals to kill people
1
8.3
A person who secretly kills an important person, often for money
1
9.9
A person who kills someone, usually with a gun
A woman who is paid to kill someone, often using a gun
A person paid to kill someone
Surface Forms
Morphology
The construction 'for hire' clearly signals availability to be hired, so a learner who knows 'for' and 'hire' can infer something or someone is offered for employment; however, it requires a metaphorical extension of 'gun' from a weapon to an armed person or hired shooter. Because understanding depends on this figurative shift (and some cultural knowledge of hired killers), the meaning is partially predictable but not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Gun for hire may come from the simple image of someone who is a gun you can hire, a shooter you pay to do a dangerous job. So it means 'a paid killer'.