Definitions for cannon
ˈkæn əncan·non

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. cannonnoun

   a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels

2. cannonnoun

   heavy gun fired from a tank

3. cannonnoun

   (Middle Ages) a cylindrical piece of armor plate to protect the arm

4. cannonnoun

   heavy automatic gun fired from an airplane

5. cannon, shanknoun

   lower part of the leg extending from the hock to the fetlock in hoofed mammals

6. carom, cannonverb

   a shot in billiards in which the cue ball contacts one object ball and then the other

7. cannonverb

   make a cannon

8. cannonverb

   fire a cannon

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. cannonnoun

   A complete assembly, consisting of an artillery tube and a breech mechanism, firing mechanism or base cap, which is a component of a gun, howitzer or mortar. It may include muzzle appendages.

2. cannonnoun

   A large-bore machine gun.

3. cannonnoun

   A bone of a horse's leg, between the fetlock joint and the knee or hock.

4. cannonnoun

   A large muzzle-loading artillery piece.

5. cannonnoun

   A carom.

6. cannonnoun

   The arm of a player that can throw well.

   He's got a cannon out in right.

7. cannonverb

   To bombard with cannons

8. cannonverb

   To play the carom billiard shot. To strike two balls with the cue ball

   The white cannoned off the red onto the pink.

9. cannonverb

   To fire something, especially spherical, rapidly.

10. Etymology: Origin circa 1400 A.D. from canon, from cannone, from canna.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cannon

   of Cannon

2. Cannonnoun

   a great gun; a piece of ordnance or artillery; a firearm for discharging heavy shot with great force

3. Cannonnoun

   a hollow cylindrical piece carried by a revolving shaft, on which it may, however, revolve independently

4. Cannonnoun

   a kind of type. See Canon

5. Cannon

   see Carom

6. Etymology: [F. cannon, fr. L. canna reed, pipe, tube. See Cane.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cannon

   A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the battlefield. The word cannon is derived from several languages, in which the original definition can usually be translated as tube, cane, or reed. The plural of cannon is also cannon in British English, but in American English, cannons is generally preferred. In the modern era, the term cannon has fallen into decline, replaced by "guns" or "artillery" if not a more specific term such as "mortar" or "howitzer", except for in the field of aerial warfare, where it is usually shorthand for autocannon. First invented in China, cannon were among the earliest forms of gunpowder artillery, and over time replaced siege engines—among other forms of aging weaponry—on the battlefield. In the Middle East, the first use of the hand cannon is argued to be during the 1260 Battle of Ain Jalut between the Mamluks and Mongols. The first cannon in Europe were probably used in Iberia in the 11 and 12th centuries, and English cannon were first deployed in the Hundred Years' War, at the Battle of Crécy, in 1346. On the African continent, the cannon was first used by the Somali Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi of the Adal Sultanate in his conquest of the steppes of Ugaden in 1529. It was during this period, the Middle Ages, that cannon became standardized, and more effective in both the anti-infantry and siege roles. After the Middle Ages most large cannon were abandoned in favor of greater numbers of lighter, more maneuverable pieces. In addition, new technologies and tactics were developed, making most defences obsolete; this led to the construction of star forts, specifically designed to withstand artillery bombardment though these too would find themselves rendered obsolete when explosive and armour piercing rounds made even these types of fortifications vulnerable.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Cannon

   kan′un, n. a great gun used in war: a stroke in billiards in which the player hits both the red and his opponent's ball.—v.i. to cannonade: to make a cannon at billiards: to collide.—n. Cannonade′, an attack with cannon.—v.t. to attack or batter with cannon.—ns. Cannonad′ing; Cann′on-ball, a ball usually made of cast-iron, to be shot from a cannon; Cann′on-bit, or Cann′on, a smooth round bit; Cann′on-bone, the long bone between the knee and the foot of a horse; Cannoneer′, Cannonier′, one who manages cannon; Cann′on-game, a form of billiards in which, the table having no pockets, the game consists in making a series of cannons; Cann′on-met′al, an alloy of about 90 parts of copper and 10 of tin, from which cannon are manufactured.—adj. Cann′on-proof, proof against cannon-shot.—ns. Cann′onry, cannonading: artillery; Cann′on-shot, a cannon-ball: the distance to which a cannon will throw a ball. [Fr. canon, from L. canna, a reed.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. cannon

   The well-known piece of artillery, mounted in battery on board or on shore, and made either of brass or iron. The principal parts are:--1st. The breech, together with the cascable and its button, called by seamen the pommelion. The breech is of solid metal, from the bottom of the concave cylinder or chamber to the cascable. 2d. The trunnions, which project on each side, and serve to support the cannon, hold it almost in equilibrio. 3d. The bore or caliber, is the interior of the cylinder, wherein the powder and shot are lodged when the cannon is loaded. The entrance of the bore is called the mouth or muzzle. It may be generally described as gradually tapering, with the various modifications of first and second reinforce and swell, to the muzzle or forward end. (See GUN.)

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. cannon

   A military engine of which the general form is that of a hollow cylinder closed at one end, and variously mounted, used for throwing balls and other instruments of death by force of gunpowder. Cannons are made of iron, brass, bronze, and sometimes of steel rods welded together, and are of different sizes. They are classified, from their nature, guns, howitzers, and mortars; also from their use, as field, mountain, prairie, sea-coast, and siege; also as rifled and smooth-bore. See Ordnance.

Matched Categories

1. • Armor Plate
   • Artillery
   • Billiards
   • Body Part
   • Discharge
   • Gun
   • Hit
   • Middle Ages

How to pronounce cannon?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say cannon in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of cannon in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of cannon in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of cannon in a Sentence

1. Confucius:

   Do not use a cannon to kill a mosquito.

2. Micah Sifry:

   He is definitely a loose cannon in terms of how he uses his Twitter account, at the same time, he hasn’t been hurt by it yet because apparently a big chunk of what he’s saying is popular among Republican voters.

3. Lisa Bowers:

   Honestly, if it was between him and Hillary Clinton, I'd vote for Hillary Clinton. At least with that, you kind of know what you're dealing with, he's just a loose cannon.

4. Hunter S. Thompson, Kingdom of Fear:

   Being shot out of a cannon is always better than being squeezed through a tube.

5. Leong Hoe Nam:

   It would have better effect using a water cannon to disperse people and make them go home.

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