Definitions for pistol
ˈpɪs tlpis·tol

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.5 / 2 votes

1. pistol, handgun, side arm, shooting ironnoun

   a firearm that is held and fired with one hand

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pistolnoun

   A handgun, with a chamber integrated in the barrel, a semi-automatic action and a box magazine.

2. pistolnoun

   The mechanical component of a fuse in a bomb or torpedo responsible for firing the detonator.

3. pistolnoun

   A creative and unpredictable jokester, a constant source of entertainment and surprises.

4. pistolnoun

   A small boy who is bright, alert and very active.

5. pistolnoun

   A play formation in which the quarterback is a few feet behind the center when the ball is snapped, but closer than in a shotgun formation, with a running back a few feet behind him.

6. pistolverb

   To shoot (at) a target with a pistol.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pistolnoun

   A small handgun.

   Etymology: pistole, pistolet, Fr.

   Three watch the door with pistols, that none should issue out. William Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor.

   The whole body of the horse passed within pistol-shot of the cottage. Edward Hyde, b. viii.

   Quicksilver discharged from a pistol will hardly pierce through a parchment. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours.

   A woman had a tubercle in the great canthus of the eye, of the bigness of a pistol-bullet. Richard Wiseman, Surgery.

2. To Pistolverb

   To shoot with a pistol.

   Etymology: pistoler, Fr.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pistol

   A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in ca. 1570 – when early handguns were produced in Europe and is derived from the Middle French pistolet (ca. 1550), meaning a small gun or knife. In colloquial usage, the word "pistol" is often used to describe any type of handgun, inclusive of revolvers (which have a single barrel and a separate cylinder housing multiple chambers) and the pocket-sized derringers (which are often multi-barrelled). The most common type of pistol used in the contemporary era is the semi-automatic pistol, while the older single-shot and manual repeating pistols are now rarely seen and used primarily for nostalgic hunting and historical reenactment, and the fully automatic machine pistols are uncommon in civilian usage due to generally poor recoil-controllability and strict laws and regulations governing their manufacture and sale.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pistol

   A pistol is a small firearm designed to be held and operated with one hand. It generally has a short barrel and uses a chamber integral with the gun's barrel as compared to a revolver, which has a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers. Pistols are typically used for short range shooting and self-defense. They can range in size, caliber, and capacity, and have various operating mechanisms, such as semi-automatic or single-shot.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pistolnoun

   the smallest firearm used, intended to be fired from one hand, -- now of many patterns, and bearing a great variety of names. See Illust. of Revolver

2. Pistolverb

   to shoot with a pistol

3. Etymology: [F. pistole, pistolet, It. pistola; prob. from a form Pistola, for Pistoja, a town in Italy where pistols were first made. Cf. Pistole.]

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pistol

   pis′tol, n. a small hand-gun, held in one hand when fired.—v.t. to shoot with a pistol.—ns. Pistoleer′, one armed with a pistol; Pis′tolet, a little pistol; Pis′tol-shot. [O. Fr. pistole—It. pistola, said to be from Pistoja (orig. Pistola), a town in Italy.]

The New Hacker's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pistol

   [IBM] A tool that makes it all too easy for you to shoot yourself in the foot. “Unix rm * makes such a nice pistol!”

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pistol

   An old word for a swaggering rogue; hence Shakspeare's character in Henry V.

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pistol

   Is the smallest description of fire-arm, and is intended to be used with one hand only. Pistols were first used by the cavalry of England about 1544. They vary in size from the delicate saloon-pistol, often not 6 inches long, to the horse-pistol, which may measure 18 inches, and sometimes even 2 feet. They are carried in holsters at the saddle-bow, in the belt, or in the pocket. Every cavalry soldier should have pistols, for a fire-arm is often of great service for personal defense, and almost indispensable in giving an alarm or signal. Of late years pistols have been made with revolving cylinder breeches, in which are formed several chambers for receiving cartridges, and bringing them in succession into a line with the barrel ready for firing. See Revolvers.

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. pistol

   Song lyrics by pistol -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by pistol on the Lyrics.com website.

Etymology and OriginsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Pistol

   From Pistoja in Italy, where this kind of small firearm was first introduced in 1545.

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for pistol »

1. pilots

2. postil

3. sploit

4. spoilt

How to pronounce pistol?

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 pistol in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of pistol in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of pistol in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of pistol in a Sentence

1. Fernando Montoya:

   He said a guy pulled a pistol out of a guitar case and started to shoot.

2. Jerry Boykin:

   The shooter, Floyd Corkins, came into our building armed with a 9 mm pistol, two ammunition clips of 15 rounds in his front pocket, the rounds in the gun, and a box of 50 additional rounds, he also had 15 individually wrapped Chick-fil-A sandwiches. He was not puffing things up when he told the investigators that he intended ‘to kill as many people as [he] could.’ He shot our building manager, Leo Johnson, shattering the major bones of his left arm. Even after taking a bullet, Leo heroically tackled the shooter putting a stop to what would have been a mass murder. Corkins was later convicted of domestic terrorism in Washington, D.C.

3. Dan Ingram:

   At the time, I was on a lot of online gun forums and there was a constant complaint, people wanted something with quick access when they needed their weapons to keep their homes safe which is why they bought the guns in the first place. Ingram’s first design was a simple nightstand with a side compartment to hold a pistol. From there, Dan Ingram began designing and fabricating other items, such as wall shelves, coat racks, desks and hutches. Soon the specialty line became the company mission.

4. Police Chief Charlie Beck:

   I think that this is an awful tragedy, but the officers took -- on the face of it -- reasonable steps to avoid it. Had the individual not grabbed the officer's pistol, certainly we would not be having this discussion.

5. Brian Williams:

   That wasn’t a bad job, until a guy came up and stuck a .38-caliber pistol in my face and made me hand over all the money. Merry Christmas, right? Of course, I suddenly appreciated the other jobs I thought I hated.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=pistol
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Pistol
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=pistol
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistol
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pistol
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=pistol
8. ^ The New Hacker's Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3008/3008-h/3008-h.htm#Pistol
9. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=pistol
10. ^ Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
    https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59563/pg59563-images.html
11. ^ Etymology and Origins
    https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/54657/pg54657-images.html#:~:text=pistol
12. ^ Usage in printed sources
    https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=pistol