firing chamber

7.2

Part of a gun where a bullet sits before you shoot

noun
/ˈfaɪərɪŋ ˈtʃeɪmbər/

Specialized

: cámara de disparo

There's still a round in the firing chamber," he reminded her.

Examples

There's still a round in the firing chamber," he reminded her.
Unburned carbon content can be further reduced on a commercial scale in LEBS by recycling the fly ash into the firing chamber.

Academic text (1999)
He levered a round into the Winchester's firing chamber and smoothly brought the weapon to his shoulder.
The military-style AR-15 had a separately purchased drum magazine, which can have trouble feeding bullets into the firing chamber if the gun is fired rapidly.

Synonyms

gun chamber

vsfiring chamber

Specialized

5.5

The space in a gun where a bullet sits before you fire it

is broader, applying to both guns and other firearms

Surface Forms

firing chamber singular

firing chambers plural

Morphology

firing + chamber

The meaning 'the part of a gun where the cartridge is placed before firing' is directly derivable from combining 'firing' (discharge of a weapon) with 'chamber' (an enclosed hollow space) — i.e. a chamber for firing. This is a straightforward noun–noun composition following transparent, cross-linguistic logic, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should comprehend it.

Etymology

Firing chamber shows a simple picture: firing, meaning to make the gun 'fire', and chamber, meaning a small 'room', combine to name the little part inside a gun where the bullet sits. That's why it means the part of a gun where the bullet is placed before it is 'fired'.