gunman

G2U1N1M3A1N1
/ˈɡʌnmən/

noun

A person armed with a gun, especially a gunned evildoer.

Similar
hit manhitman
Less commonScrabble 9
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Meanings

noungunman (plural gunmen)

plural gunmen

  1. A person armed with a gun, especially a gunned evildoer.

    "I've known a heap of gun fighters in my day. An' Jean Isbel don't ran true to class. Shore there never was a gunman who'd risk cripplin' his right hand by sluggin' anybody."

    1921, Zane Grey, chapter 5, in To The Last Man
    1 more example

    Mohamed Merah, the man believed to be the gunman on a scooter who killed seven people in south-western France, was killed in an armed siege after police surrounded his block of flats in Toulouse.

    2012 March 22, “Mohamed Merah: Who was Toulouse gunman?”, in BBC
  2. derogatorysometimesAn American.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna male professional killer who uses a gun

Similar
hit manhitman
Broader
gunslingerhired gungunmanadult male
Also see
hitman

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From gun + -man.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan pistoler
  • pistolercriminal armed with a gun
Chinese Mandarin 槍手 /枪手
  • 槍手 /枪手 (qiāngshǒu)criminal armed with a gun
Esperanto revolverulo
  • revolverulocriminal armed with a gun
Finnish pyssymies, asemies
  • pyssymiescriminal armed with a gun
  • asemiescriminal armed with a gun
French bandit, tireur
  • banditcriminal armed with a gun
  • tireurcriminal armed with a gun
Hindi बंदूक़धारी
  • बंदूक़धारी (bandūqdhārī)criminal armed with a gun
Italian pistolero, tiratore
  • pistolerocriminal armed with a gun
  • tiratorecriminal armed with a gun
Japanese ガンマン
  • ガンマン (ganman)criminal armed with a gun
Portuguese pistoleiro, atirador
  • pistoleirocriminal armed with a gun
  • atiradorcriminal armed with a gun
Russian вооружённый престу́пник, стрело́к
  • вооружённый престу́пник (vooružónnyj prestúpnik)criminal armed with a gun
  • стрело́к (strelók)criminal armed with a gun
Spanish pistolero, pistolera
  • pistolerocriminal armed with a gun
  • pistoleracriminal armed with a gun
  • tiradorcriminal armed with a gun
Swedish skytt, pistolskytt
  • skyttcriminal armed with a gun
  • pistolskyttcriminal armed with a gun
Thai มือปืน
  • มือปืน (mʉʉ-bpʉʉn)criminal armed with a gun
Cite this entry
APA

gunman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gunman

MLA

“gunman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gunman. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gunman,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gunman.

Source: gunman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.