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airgun

airgun

1 4.1
A gun that uses air or gas to fire small pellets
  • noun
  • /ˈɛrˌɡʌn/
translation icon : pistola de aire
  • Here where I live (a suburban city in the Puget Sound area), it's completely legal—as in actually written into the municipal code—to shoot airguns as long as you have a safe backstop.

Examples

  • A "weapon" is defined as a rifle, shotgun, pistol, airgun, and starter pistol.

    Blog text (27)
  • Energy giant Woodside has been shooting airguns into unique feeding waters for blue whales as part of its seismic testing for gas, despite an expert warning against it.

    Blog text (9)
  • Energy giant Woodside has been shooting airguns into unique feeding waters for blue whales as part of its efforts.

    Blog text (9)
  • It applies even to airguns, paintball guns, and nail guns, for heaven's sake...

    Blog text (30)
  • I bought an airgun to practice my shooting skills in the backyard.

  • The kids were excited to try their new airgun at the shooting range.

  • During the summer camp, we learned how to safely use an airgun for target practice.

Synonyms

gun
vsairgun
1.0

A weapon that fires bullets or shells at high speed

is limited to weapons that use compressed air or gas instead of explosive propellants
BB gun
vsairgun
16 3.6

A small gun that shoots metal balls using air or gas

is broader and covers various small projectiles not only metal balls
paintball gun
vsairgun
5 3.2

A gun that shoots small paint-filled balls used in a game where players mark each other

is used to fire solid projectiles for other purposes rather than marking opponents
air rifle
vsairgun
3 3.7

A gun that uses compressed air to fire small pellets

is a broader name for these compressed gas powered weapons
air gun
vsairgun
1 3.1

A device that shoots small pellets using compressed air instead of gunpowder

is written as a single word rather than two separate words

How Powerful

shotgun
324 4.1
firearm
258 4.5
air rifle
3 3.7
airgun
1 4.1

Surface Forms

airgun singular
airguns plural

Morphology

airgun = air + gun (transparent) = air + gun

A straightforward compound where the meaning is directly the combination of 'air' and 'gun' (a gun that uses compressed air).

Etymology

Airgun is simply air + gun, so imagine a small gun powered by 'air' rather than by an explosion. That's why an airgun shoots pellets using compressed air or gas instead of explosive gunpowder.