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Glite Dictionary
pump action

pump action

1 6.3
A sliding lever on a shotgun or rifle that loads a new round when you move it back and forth
  • noun
  • /pʌmp ˈækʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : acción de bombeo
  • He preferred a pump action shotgun because it allowed him to reload quickly in the field.

So the police say a Mossberg pump action shotgun shot at close range and executed in Rickmansworth.

Examples

  • The farmer worked the pump action of his shotgun, then fired into the air again.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Pump action, it held seven rounds and was the same model the FBI used.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • It was a cheap piece of artillery, but the pump action allowed him to work fast with .22 shorts and keep any bystanders bedazzled.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The hunter demonstrated how to operate the pump action of his shotgun before the competition began.

  • For quick follow-up shots, the pump action mechanism of the rifle is highly effective.

Synonyms

slide action
vspump action
  • Specialized
8.1

A part of a shotgun you move back and forth to eject and load shells for the next shot

is the same mechanism but is an alternative name

Surface Forms

pump action singular
pump actions plural

Morphology

pump + action

The meaning 'a mechanism operated by pumping' is directly and compositionally derived from 'pump' (to move up and down repeatedly) + 'action' (the moving part that makes a device operate). This literal compound follows normal English formation (e.g., 'pump-action shotgun'), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Pump action comes from the simple image of a hand pump: the gun's front part is slid back and forth in a pumping action, like moving a pump handle. This back-and-forth movement pushes out a used shell and puts a new one in, so the name means a gun that works by a pumping movement to 'eject' and 'load' rounds.