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Glite Dictionary
Bofors gun

Bofors gun

8.7
A large automatic gun with two barrels used to shoot at enemy planes
  • noun
  • /ˈboʊfərz ɡʌn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cañón Bofors
  • During World War II, Allied forces relied heavily on the Bofors gun for antiaircraft protection.

Examples

  • The navy ship was equipped with a Bofors gun for defense against aerial attacks.

  • A restored Bofors gun is displayed at the military museum as a piece of wartime history.

  • The army deployed a Bofors gun at the border.

  • Many countries use Bofors guns for defense.

  • During World War II, Allied forces relied heavily on the Bofors gun for antiaircraft protection.

  • A restored Bofors gun is displayed at the military museum as a piece of wartime history.

  • The navy ship was equipped with a Bofors gun for defense against aerial attacks.

Synonyms

antiaircraft gun
vsBofors gun
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A large gun on the ground that shoots at planes

is the specific automatic double barrel model designed by a Swedish company

Surface Forms

Bofors gun singular
Bofors guns plural

Morphology

Bofors + gun

The phrase is compositional: it combines the proper name 'Bofors' (a manufacturer) with 'gun' (a firearm), so the meaning is simply a gun made by or associated with Bofors. Brand/manufacturer + common noun constructions are widespread cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer this referential, non-idiomatic meaning.

Etymology

Bofors gun is named after the Swedish maker Bofors, which built a famous automatic gun used to shoot at enemy planes. Because so many armies used that design, the name Bofors gun came to mean that type of 'antiaircraft' weapon.