Chekhov's gun

/t͡ʃɛ.kɔfs ɡʌn/

proper noun

A dramatic principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed.

OriginRussian Чеховское ружьё →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. literatureA dramatic principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed.

    An on-screen pill bottle works like Chekhov’s gun: Eventually, its contents will be fired at an actor’s mouth, or smashed between his lips, or hurled into his gullet.

    2023 May 1, Daniel Engber, “No One in Movies Knows How to Swallow a Pill”, in The Atlantic
    1 more example

    It seems like a violation of Chekhov’s gun rule to put Naomi Campbell in the first act and not have her throw a phone at someone in the third. (She tore up a check instead.)

    2015 March 19, Alessandra Stanley, “'Empire' Finale Review: A Sizzling End to Season One”, in New York Times
  2. An element that is introduced early in the story whose significance to the plot does not become clear until later.

    He is Chekhov's gun on the wall, destined to go off at the crucial moment.

    2007, John Updike, Due considerations: essays and criticism, →ISBN, page 336
    1 more example

    The episode of the sun-god's island is the Odyssey's equivalent of Chekhov's gun, announced in the poem's earliest lines as the occasion of the companions' downfall and anticipated ever since.

    2005, John Miles Foley, A companion to ancient epic, →ISBN, page 324

Origin

  1. RussianЧеховское ружьё
  2. EnglishChekhov's gun

Calque of Russian Чеховское ружьё (Čexovskoje ružʹjó). The principle was articulated by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov and reported in various forms.

More words from Russian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Esperanto fusilo de Ĉeĥov
  • fusilo de Ĉeĥovelement
Finnish Tšehovin ase, Tšehovin ase
  • Tšehovin asedramatic principle
  • Tšehovin aseelement
French fusil de Tchekhov
  • fusil de Tchekhovelement
Japanese チェーホフの銃
  • チェーホフの銃 (Chēhofu no jū)element
Russian че́ховское ружьё, ружьё Че́хова
  • че́ховское ружьё (čéxovskoje ružʹjó)element
  • ружьё Че́хова (ružʹjó Čéxova)element
Spanish arma de Chéjov
  • arma de Chéjovelement
Cite this entry
APA

Chekhov's gun. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chekhov's%20gun

MLA

“Chekhov's gun.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chekhov's%20gun. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Chekhov's gun,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chekhov's%20gun.

Source: Chekhov's gun on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.