Meanings
nounrailgun (plural railguns)
plural railguns · alternative rail gun
- An electromagnetic gun that uses a large electrical current to propel a projectile down a track of two parallel conductive rails.
- A railway gun.
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
From rail + gun. * (railway gun): From being a gun mounted on a rail car, and being railroad-mobile. * (EM gun): From being a projectile ejecting device with a pair of electric conducting rails that a launch sled runs along, which shoots the projectile.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 磁道炮, 電磁炮 /电磁炮
- 磁道炮 (cídàopào)electromagnetic gun
- 電磁炮 /电磁炮 (diàncípào)electromagnetic gun
Esperanto elektromagneta kanono
- elektromagneta kanonoelectromagnetic gun
Finnish raidetykki
- raidetykkielectromagnetic gun
French canon électrique, railgun
- canon électriqueelectromagnetic gun
- railgunelectromagnetic gun
German Railgun, Schienenkanone
- Railgunelectromagnetic gun
- Schienenkanoneelectromagnetic gun
Hungarian sínágyú
- sínágyúelectromagnetic gun
Italian Cannone a rotaia
- Cannone a rotaiaelectromagnetic gun
Japanese レールガン
- レールガン (rērugan)electromagnetic gun
Portuguese canhão elétrico
- canhão elétricoelectromagnetic gun
Russian рельсотро́н, ре́льсовая пу́шка
- рельсотро́н (relʹsotrón)electromagnetic gun
- ре́льсовая пу́шка (rélʹsovaja púška)electromagnetic gun
Spanish arma de riel, cañón de riel
- arma de rielelectromagnetic gun
- cañón de rielelectromagnetic gun
Cite this entry
APA
railgun. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/railgun
MLA
“railgun.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/railgun. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “railgun,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/railgun.
Source: railgun on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.