Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
2️⃣ The number 22 🔫 A small gun
twenty-two

twenty-two

6 7.5
A small pistol or rifle that uses .22 bullets
  • noun
  • /ˈtwɛnti tu/
: arma de calibre .22
  • The officer holstered his twenty-two after ensuring it was secure.
  • twenty-two gun
  • twenty-two years old

Examples

  • Somebody gave him two in the head with a twenty-two.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • All shot with a high-velocity twenty-two in the back of the head.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Turn out the light; the twenty-two's under the sink with a full clip and one in the chamber.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Guy shot five people with a twenty-two before he realized it wasn't a toy.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Dad and I found twenty-two guns buried in the top of that sap trench.

    Academic text (2014)

  • Courtesy of Bo DuBose. Bo and his father Beverly DuBose, Jr., at the site of the Battle of Spotsylvania, holding four of the twenty-two guns they discovered there, along with the metal detector used to find them.

    Academic text (2014)

  • With a twenty-two in his hand, he felt ready to protect his family.

  • She preferred using a twenty-two for target practice at the shooting range.

Synonyms

.22
vstwenty-two
  • Specialized
9 7.2

A small pistol or rifle that uses very small bullets

is identical in meaning but presented as the spelled-out number form
twenty-two pistol
vstwenty-two
1 4.1

A small gun that fires light bullets and does not push back much for target practice

is the broader firearm term not focused on low recoil or training use
twenty-two rifle
vstwenty-two
1 4.7

A small gun that uses .22 bullets for target shooting or hunting small animals

is the broader firearm term not limited to hunting or long barrel use

Surface Forms

twenty-two singular
twenty-twos plural

Morphology

twenty-two = twenty + two (semi-transparent) = twenty + two

Formally derived from the numeral elements, but the sense 'a .22-caliber firearm' is a specialized metonymic usage that learners cannot reliably infer from the numbers alone.

Etymology

Twenty-two for a gun comes from the size label .22, which shows the bullet is about two tenths of an inch across. So calling a pistol a twenty-two is just a short way to name a gun that fires that small .22 bullet.