Meaning & use
machine gun
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Meanings
nouncountable
A gun that fires bullets very quickly and continuously as long as the trigger is pressed.
Grammar: Countable: one machine gun, two machine guns.
Patterns
- fire a machine gun
- a machine gun nest
- heavy machine gun
The soldier aimed the machine gun at the enemy position.
Machine guns were mounted on the walls of the fort.
The sound of a machine gun echoed through the valley.
verbtransitive
To shoot at someone or something with a machine gun.
Grammar: Takes an object: machine-gun the enemy.
Patterns
- machine-gun someone
- machine-gun a target
The plane machine-gunned the convoy below.
They were machine-gunned from the air.
adjectivebefore a nounfigurative
Describing something that happens very rapidly and continuously, like machine-gun fire.
Grammar: Used before a noun: machine-gun fire, machine-gun rhythm.
Patterns
- machine-gun fire
- machine-gun speed
The comedian delivered a machine-gun series of jokes.
He spoke in a machine-gun staccato.
Word forms
| plural | machine guns |
|---|---|
| third person singular | machine-guns |
| past tense | machine-gunned |
| past participle | machine-gunned |
| present participle | machine-gunning |
Common combinations
- machine-gun fire
- The troops were pinned down by machine-gun fire.
- heavy machine gun
- The heavy machine gun required a team to operate.
- light machine gun
- A light machine gun can be carried by one soldier.
- machine gun nest
- They attacked the machine gun nest at dawn.
Synonyms and how they differ
- automatic weapon
- A broader term that includes machine guns and other self-loading firearms.
- submachine gun
- A smaller, lighter weapon that fires pistol ammunition; a machine gun typically fires rifle ammunition.
Word family
- machine-gunner noun
- A person who operates a machine gun.
Practice
The soldiers were pinned down by ___ fire from the hill.
Choose one answer.
The adjective form before a noun is 'machine-gun' (with a hyphen). 'Machine gun' is the noun, 'machine gunning' is a verb form, and 'machine guns' is a plural noun, none of which fit before 'fire'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “machine gun”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.