pistol

plural pistols

1. broadlyA handgunFirst known use 1570s
   1. broadlypreciseThe type of handgun with the chamber integral with the barrel.

      She leveled her pistol at the target.

2. The mechanical component of a fuse in a bomb or torpedo responsible for firing the detonator.
3. A lively, high-energy person.

   She features so many dance tunes and is a pistol with her sharp and witty remarks.

   2012, Jimmy Correa, How My Prank Stories in ‘You Tube’ Made Me an Overnight Sensation, iUniverse, page 102

   2 more examples

   She was gregarious, opinionated, and in charge, the kind of person you'd describe as a real pistol, and I was immediately drawn to her.

   2011, Diane Lierow, Bernie Lierow, Kay West, Dani's Story: A Journey from Neglect to Love, page 81

   KENT NELSON —Until my wife Inza convinced me there was more to life. Ah, she was a real pistol, that Inza.

   February 2012, Thomas Pugsley, Denial (episode) in Young Justice (TV series)

4. American footballAn offensive formation in which the quarterback receives the snap at a distance behind the center, but closer than in a shotgun formation, with a running back lined up behind him.

present singular third person pistols · US participle present pistoling · UK participle present pistolling · US participle past pistoled · US past pistoled · UK participle past pistolled · UK past pistolled

1. transitiveTo shoot (at) a target with a pistol.