breech-loading
1
9.0
- adjective
- /ˈbrēch-ˌlōdɪŋ/
- Specialized
:
de carga por la culata
- With the breech-loading mechanism, soldiers could reload their weapons faster than ever before.
- breech-loading rifle
- breech-loading carbines
- breech-loading weapon
Examples
-
Breech-loading weapons were an especially important advance.
Academic text (2004) -
During this time, the Prussians in particular nimbly perfected existing technology, such as smokeless powder and the breech-loading rifle, rendering it practical for large-scale use.
Academic text (2004) -
Peg doesn't own a rifle, but whenever they hunt together, Lore lends her his old breech-loading shotgun, the weapon hardly more than ornamental, since the few times she has fired out in the field, she's never come close to her target.
Fiction book (1998) -
The introduction of the breech-loading rifle revolutionized military operations in the 19th century.
-
Many armies around the world adopted breech-loading firearms for their improved efficiency in combat.
How Old-fashioned
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Breech-loading comes from breech, an old word for the 'rear' or the part of the body covered by breeches ('pants'). So a breech-loading gun is loaded at the 'rear' of the barrel rather than the muzzle, which is why it can be reloaded more quickly.