Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🔫 Under gun threat 🔫 End of a gun
gunpoint

gunpoint

4.3
The front end of a gun that points at someone
  • noun
  • /ˈɡʌnˌpɔɪnt/
  • NSFW
translation icon : boca del cañón

Examples

  • Typical of the United at gunpoint states.

    Blog text (4)

  • I'm built like a truck and couldn't fit into anything under a size sixteen at gunpoint.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • That is gunpoint, as government law enforcement agents typically carry guns, and government has the power to take your freedom or your life if it determines that you have committed a great enough offense.

    Blog text (27)

  • The robber demanded money from the cashier at gunpoint during the heist.

  • She felt terrified as the criminal threatened her at gunpoint in the dark alley.

  • He was forced to obey the orders given to him at gunpoint after the armed intruder broke in.

Synonyms

muzzle
vsgunpoint
  • Specialized
26 7.1

The open end of a gun barrel where a bullet comes out

means being held at that barrel end under threat instead of just the part
gun muzzle
vsgunpoint
1 7.0

The open front end of a gun barrel where a bullet comes out

refers to being threatened from that barrel end rather than the part

Surface Forms

gunpoint singular
gunpoints plural

Morphology

gunpoint = gun + point (transparent) = gun + point

Literal composition of 'gun' and 'point' yielding the muzzle or tip of a gun is directly compositional and obvious to learners.

Etymology

Gunpoint literally means the 'point of a gun' or the gun's front end that can be aimed. That's why it can mean the gun's tip itself or the position from which force or a threat is applied.