Guns

1. A weapon consisting of a metal tube from which a projectile is fired at high

velocity into a relatively flat trajectory.
2. A cannon with a long barrel and a relatively low angle of fire.
3. A portable firearm, such as a rifle or revolver.
4. A device resembling a firearm or cannon, as in its ability to project something,
such as grease, under pressure or at great speed.
5. A discharge of a firearm or cannon as a signal or salute.
6. One, such as a hunter, who carries or uses a gun.
7.
a. A person skilled in the use of a gun.
b. A professional killer: a hired gun.
8. The throttle of an engine, as of an automobile.

Weapon consisting essentially of a metal tube from which a missile or projectile is shot
by the force of exploding gunpowder or some other propellant. The term is often limited
today to the so-called big guns, cannon larger than a howitzer or mortar. It may also be
used to refer to military small arms such as the rifle, machine gun, and pistol, as well as
to nonmilitary firearms such as the shotgun. Though the Chinese used gunpowder in
warfare from the 9th century, guns were not developed until the Europeans acquired
gunpowder in the 13th century. The earliest guns (c. 1327) resembled old-fashioned soda
bottles; they apparently were fired by applying a red-hot wire to a touchhole drilled
through the top. Separating the barrel and the powder chamber resulted in breechloaders,
which continued to be used in naval swivel guns and fortress wallpieces well into the
17th century. Small arms, as distinguished from hand cannon, did not exist until the
development of the matchlock in the 15th century. See also flintlock, wheel lo A gun is a
machine or tool, usually a weapon, that propels projectiles such as bullets. The projectile
is generally fired through a hollow tube known as the gun's barrel. The barrel's diameter,
determines the size of projectile used, which is usually designated in fractions of an inch
or in millimeters. Differing from the musket, most modern guns are rifled, with a series
of grooves spiraling along the barrel; exceptions include smoothbores on tanks, AFVs
and some artillery. ck. The use of the term cannon is interchangeable with the gun as a
word borrowed from the French language during the early 15th century, from Old French
canon, itself a borrowing from the Italian cannone, a "large tube" augmentive of Latin
canna "reed or cane".[1]

In military use, the term "gun" refers to artillery ordnance that fires projectiles at high
velocity, such as naval guns which in the modern navies are not called cannons, or the
tank main gun. In military use, mortars and all hand-held firearms are excluded from the
meaning of guns because they do not require the accurate gunnery data calculations and
training when engaging targets.[2] Two exceptions to this include: the shotgun, which is a
smoothbore hand-held firearm that fires a load of shot or a single projectile known as a
slug, and the machine gun, which is a fully-automatic weapon mounted on a tripod or
wheeled carriage and is almost always operated by a crew of two.

The word "gun" is also applied to some more or less vaguely gun-like or gun-shaped
tools such as staple guns, nail guns, and glue guns.

In a gun-type fission weapon the "gun" is part of a nuclear weapon. The projectile is
fissile material that is fired and captured inside the device. In the case of nuclear artillery,
it should not be confused with the gun that fires the whole warhead. In a captive bolt gun
the projectile is also caught within the mechanism. Such captive piston guns are often
used to humanely stun farm animals for slaughter.[3]

A gunner is a member of the team charged with the task of operating and firing a gun.

Types of guns

Colt Python .357 Magnum revolver

Military and civilian handguns

• Small arms
o Handgun
 Captive bolt pistol
 Hand cannon
 Machine pistol
 Pistol
 Howdah pistol
 Junk gun
 Mousegun
 Pocket pistol
 Revolver

Military firearms
Marlin Model 1894C — a carbine in .357 Magnum

• Long gun
o Arquebus
o Blunderbuss
o Musket
 Musketoon
 Wall gun
o Personal defense weapon
o Rifle
 Lever action rifle
 Bolt action rifle
 Assault rifle
 Battle rifle
 Carbine
 Service rifle
 Sniper rifle
o Shotgun
 Combat shotgun
 Semi-automatic shotgun
o Submachine gun
o Tu Huo Qiang

Machine guns

• Gatling gun
• Mitrailleuse
• Machine gun
o General-purpose machine gun
o Heavy machine gun
o Light machine gun
o Medium machine gun
o Squad automatic weapon
• Minigun
• .50 BMG
• submachinegun

Autocannon guns

• Autocannon
• Chain gun
 • .50 BMG

OWUP

Artillery guns

• Artillery gun
o Carronade
o Howitzer

Tank guns

• Tank gun
• .50 BMG

Hunting guns

• Elephant gun
• Express rifle
• Fr P gun

Guns for training and entertainment

• Airsoft gun
• BB gun
• Paintball gun
• Water gun

Weapons mistaken for guns

• Grenade launcher
• Mortar
• Recoilless rifle