assault weapon

noun

Definition of assault weaponnext
as in assault rifle

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of assault weapon In the aftermath of the shooting, Illinois passed an assault weapons ban. — Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2025 Residents of the small and tranquil beach community of Carmel-by-the-Sea were rattled Friday afternoon when a man armed with an assault weapon was shot and killed by police after being spotted strolling through the streets, according to news reports. — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024 The law prohibits the sale, manufacture, possession and purchase of assault-style weapons, assault weapon attachments and .50 caliber cartridges in the state of Illinois. — John Bacon, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2025 Amy Coney Barrett Sparks MAGA Fury Over Trump Sentencing Decision For instance, banning assault weapons might reduce casualties in mass shootings directly involving firearms. — John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for assault weapon
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assault weapon
  1. assault rifle
  2. machine gun
  3. submachine gun
  4. machine pistol
  5. tommy gun
Noun
  • He was arrested after a loaded AK-47 assault rifle was found in his backseat.
    — Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 19 Mar. 2025
  • In 2019, a twenty-one-year-old from a small town outside Dallas had travelled to a Walmart in El Paso and opened fire with a semi-automatic assault rifle, killing twenty-three shoppers.
    — Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Definition of assault rifle
Noun
  • The shootings, one of which involved a machine gun, were carried out by Peña and co-defendants Demetrio Trujillo, 43, and his son, Jose Trujillo, 24, according to federal prosecutors.
    — Deon J. Hampton, NBC News, 20 Mar. 2025
  • The weapons charges included allegations that Peña fired a machine gun in relation to a crime of violence.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of machine gun
Noun
  • Rock’s talent includes shooting down German fighter planes with a single submachine gun and tossing grenades with great accuracy.
    — Justin Kroll, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2025
  • Budweiser factories received bomb threats, customers boycotted the beer, and MAGA musician Kid Rock filmed himself shooting up 12-packs with a submachine gun, tears in his eyes.
    — Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2025
Definition of submachine gun
Noun
  • One casing is a 9mm caliber, likely a pistol, or a machine pistol or a submachine gun, Weir said.
    — Mohammad Al Sawalhi, CNN, 26 June 2024
  • Prosecutors said police found two weapons in the getaway car when the men were detained on a highway about 50 kilometers (30 miles) outside Amsterdam, a Heckler and Koch machine pistol and, in a Louis Vuitton bag, a blank-firing pistol that had been modified to take 9-millimeter rounds.
    — MIKE CORDER, ajc, 18 Oct. 2021
Definition of machine pistol
Noun
  • After speeches by longtime colleagues (the F.B.I. director, Christopher Wray, presented him with a replica tommy gun), Garland spoke.
    — Fabio Bertoni, The New Yorker, 17 Jan. 2025
  • Gauging from the trailer, this grisly period piece appears to be set in the South with Jordan starring in a dual role as a pair of twins, at least one of whom gets to spray bullets with a retro tommy gun.
    — Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2025
Definition of tommy gun

Browse Nearby Words

assaults
assault weapon
assault weapons
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Cite this Entry

“Assault weapon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assault%20weapon. Accessed 6 Apr. 2025.

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