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Gun vs. Rifle — What's the Difference?

Gun vs. Rifle — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Gun and Rifle

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Gun

A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch typically solid projectiles, but can also project pressurized liquid (e.g. water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, projected water disruptors, and technically also flamethrowers), gas (e.g.

Rifle

A rifle is a long-barrelled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with both hands and braced firmly against the shooter's shoulder via a buttstock for stability during shooting.

Gun

A portable firearm, such as a rifle or revolver.

Rifle

A gun, especially one fired from shoulder level, having a long spirally grooved barrel intended to make a bullet spin and thereby have greater accuracy over a long distance
A hunting rifle

Gun

A cannon with a long barrel and a relatively low angle of fire.
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Rifle

Make spiral grooves in (a gun or its barrel or bore) to make a bullet spin and thereby have greater accuracy over a long distance
A line of replacement rifled barrels

Gun

A device resembling a firearm or cannon, as in its ability to project something, such as grease or paint, under pressure or at great speed.

Rifle

Hit or kick (a ball) hard and straight
Ferguson rifled home his fourth goal of the season

Gun

A discharge of a firearm or cannon as a signal or salute
Heard the guns honoring the leader.

Rifle

Search through something in a hurried way in order to find or steal something
She rifled through the cassette tapes
She rifled the house for money

Gun

One who is armed with or skilled in the use of a gun.

Rifle

A firearm with a spirally grooved bore, designed to be fired from the shoulder.

Gun

The throttle of an engine, as of an automobile.

Rifle

An artillery piece or naval gun with a spirally grooved bore.

Gun

Guns(Slang) The biceps muscles of the arms.

Rifle

Rifles Troops armed with rifles.

Gun

To shoot (a person)
A bank robber who was gunned down by the police.

Rifle

To cut spiral grooves within (a gun barrel, for example).

Gun

To open the throttle of (an engine) so as to accelerate
Gunned the engine and sped off.

Rifle

To search (an area or container, for example) thoroughly, especially using the hands with the intent to steal or remove something
Rifled the desk, looking for the keys.

Gun

To hunt with a gun.

Rifle

To rob or search with the intent to rob
Rifled the travelers of their belongings.

Gun

A device for projecting a hard object very forcefully; a firearm or cannon.
Guns were considered improvements of crossbows and catapults.
Looking for wild meat to fill his family's freezer for the winter, the young man quietly raised up his gun at the approaching deer.

Rifle

To steal (goods).

Gun

A very portable, short firearm, for hand use, which fires bullets or projectiles, such as a handgun, revolver, pistol, or Derringer.

Rifle

To search vigorously
Rifling through my drawers to find matching socks.

Gun

A less portable, long firearm that fires bullets or projectiles; a rifle, either manual, automatic or semi-automatic; a flintlock, musket or shotgun.

Rifle

(weaponry) A firearm fired from the shoulder; improved range and accuracy is provided by a long, rifled barrel.

Gun

(military) A cannon with relatively long barrel, operating with relatively low angle of fire, and having a high muzzle velocity.

Rifle

A rifleman.

Gun

(military) A cannon with a 6-inch/155mm minimum nominal bore diameter and tube length 30 calibers or more. See also: howitzer; mortar.

Rifle

(weaponry) An artillery piece with a rifled barrel.

Gun

(figurative) A firearm or cannon used for saluting or signalling.21-gun salute

Rifle

A strip of wood covered with emery or a similar material, used for sharpening scythes.

Gun

A device operated by a trigger and acting in a manner similar to a firearm.

Rifle

(intransitive) To quickly search through many items (such as papers, the contents of a drawer, a pile of clothing). (See also riffle[http://verbmall.blogspot.com/2008/05/riffle-or-rifle.html])
She made a mess when she rifled through the stack of papers, looking for the title document.

Gun

Any implement designed to fire a projectile from a tube.
Air-pressure pellet gun
Nail gun

Rifle

(intransitive) To commit robbery or theft.

Gun

A device or tool that projects a substance.
Squirt gun
Spray gun
Grease gun

Rifle

(transitive) To search with intent to steal; to ransack, pillage or plunder.

Gun

A device or tool that applies something rather than projecting it.
A price-label gun

Rifle

(transitive) To strip of goods; to rob; to pillage.

Gun

(surfing) A long surfboard designed for surfing big waves (not the same as a longboard, a gun has a pointed nose and is generally a little narrower).

Rifle

(transitive) To seize and bear away by force; to snatch away; to carry off.

Gun

(cellular automata) A pattern that "fires" out other patterns.

Rifle

(transitive) To add a spiral groove to a gun bore to make a fired bullet spin in flight in order to improve range and accuracy.

Gun

A person who carries or uses a rifle, shotgun or handgun.

Rifle

(transitive) To cause (a projectile, as a rifle bullet) to travel in a flat ballistic trajectory.

Gun

(television) An electron gun.

Rifle

(intransitive) To move in a flat ballistic trajectory (as a rifle bullet).

Gun

The biceps.

Rifle

To dispose of in a raffle.

Gun

Violent blasts of wind.

Rifle

To engage in a raffle.

Gun

An expert.

Rifle

To seize and bear away by force; to snatch away; to carry off.
Till time shall rifle every youthful grace.

Gun

Someone excellent, surpassingly wonderful, or cool.

Rifle

To strip; to rob; to pillage.
Stand, sir, and throw us that you have about ye:If not, we'll make you sit and rifle you.

Gun

A magsman or street thief.

Rifle

To raffle.

Gun

(transitive) To cause to speed up.
He gunned the engine.

Rifle

To raffle.

Gun

(informal) To offer vigorous support to (a person or cause).
We're all gunning for you.

Rifle

To commit robbery.

Gun

(informal) (gunning for something or gunning to do something) make a great effort.

Rifle

To grove; to channel; especially, to groove internally with spiral channels; as, to rifle a gun barrel or a cannon.

Gun

To seek to attack someone; to take aim at someone; used with for.
He's been gunning for you ever since you embarrassed him at the party.

Rifle

A gun, the inside of whose barrel is grooved with spiral channels, thus giving the ball a rotary motion and insuring greater accuracy of fire. As a military firearm it has superseded the musket.

Gun

To practice fowling or hunting small game; chiefly in participial form: to go gunning.

Rifle

A body of soldiers armed with rifles.

Gun

To masturbate while observing and visible to a corrections officer.

Rifle

A strip of wood covered with emery or a similar material, used for sharpening scythes.

Gun

Nonstandard spelling of going to
I'm gun go get my coat from da closet.

Rifle

A shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore;
He lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired

Gun

A weapon which throws or propels a missile to a distance; any firearm or instrument for throwing projectiles, consisting of a tube or barrel closed at one end, in which the projectile is placed, with an explosive charge (such as guncotton or gunpowder) behind, which is ignited by various means. Pistols, rifles, carbines, muskets, and fowling pieces are smaller guns, for hand use, and are called small arms. Larger guns are called cannon, ordnance, fieldpieces, carronades, howitzers, etc. See these terms in the Vocabulary.
As swift as a pellet out of a gunneWhen fire is in the powder runne.
The word gun was in use in England for an engine to cast a thing from a man long before there was any gunpowder found out.

Rifle

Steal goods; take as spoils;
During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners

Gun

A piece of heavy ordnance; in a restricted sense, a cannon.

Rifle

Go through in search of something; search through someone's belongings in an unauthorized way;
Who rifled through my desk drawers?

Gun

Violent blasts of wind.

Gun

To practice fowling or hunting small game; - chiefly in participial form; as, to go gunning.

Gun

A weapon that discharges a missile at high velocity (especially from a metal tube or barrel)

Gun

Large but transportable armament

Gun

A person who shoots a gun (as regards their ability)

Gun

A professional killer who uses a gun

Gun

A hand-operated pump that resembles a gun; forces grease into parts of a machine

Gun

A pedal that controls the throttle valve;
He stepped on the gas

Gun

The discharge of a gun as signal or as a salute in military ceremonies;
A twenty gun salute

Gun

Shoot with a gun

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