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Glite Dictionary
to machine-gun

to machine-gun

10 7.4
Shoot many bullets very quickly at someone or something
  • verb
  • /məˈʃin ˌɡʌn/
translation icon : ametrallar
  • The soldiers began to machine-gun the enemy positions during the firefight.
  • machine-gun fire

And then actually the first time was just doing close air support and then machine gunning what was left.

Examples

  • They machine-gunned them down.

    49th Parallel (1941)

  • They machine-gunned us.

    Belfast (2021)

  • You know, I machine gun goats from my helicopter.

  • They'll machine-gun us down on sight.

    Illegally Yours (1988)

  • In the movie, the hero had to machine-gun the attacking forces to survive the ambush.

  • They used a helicopter to machine-gun the advancing troops from above.

Synonyms

to shoot
vsto machine-gun
  • NSFW
∞ 1.8

Fire a gun at a person or animal to try to kill

is done with a rapid automatic weapon rather than general discharge
to fire
vsto machine-gun
∞ 1.0

To shoot a gun at a target

occurs with a rapid automatic weapon producing continuous bursts rather than single acts
to open fire
vsto machine-gun
  • NSFW
115 4.1

Start shooting at people or things with a gun

refers specifically to using a rapid automatic weapon during that initial attack
to shot
vsto machine-gun
73 1.9

To fire a gun or hit something with a bullet

is carried out by a rapid automatic weapon rather than a lone projectile use
to gun
vsto machine-gun
67 3.2

To shoot someone or something with a weapon that fires bullets

involves a rapid automatic weapon rather than a simple handheld attack
to shell
vsto machine-gun
27 7.9

To fire metal containers filled with explosives at a place or people to cause damage

involves a rapid automatic weapon rather than long-range explosive ordnance

Surface Forms

machine-gun infinitive
machine-gunned past
machine-gunned past participle
machine-gunning present participle
machine-guns third person singular

Morphology

machine-gun = machine-gun (transparent) = machine + gun

The verb is directly formed from the noun phrase 'machine gun' by conversion, and the component meanings remain clear.

Etymology

Machine-gun comes from joining machine (a 'device' that does work) and gun ('weapon' that fires bullets), so it literally means a gun that works like a machine and can fire many bullets very fast. So, to machine-gun someone or something is to fire at them with that automatic gun.