Sten gun

noun

A family of British 9 mm submachine guns used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and numerous other conflicts.

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Meanings

nounSten gun (plural Sten guns)

plural Sten guns

  1. A family of British 9 mm submachine guns used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and numerous other conflicts.

Origin

An acronym, derived from the initials of the surnames of the weapon's chief designers, Major Reginald Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and Enfield, the location of the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) in London.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: Sten gun on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.