stare down the barrel of a gun

verb

To face a serious, dangerous, or very unpleasant situation that feels imminent or unavoidable.

Similar
stare down the barrel of something
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbstare down the barrel of a gun (third-person singular simple present stares down the barrel of a gun, present participle staring down the barrel of a gun, simple past and past participle stared down the barrel of a gun)

present singular third person stares down the barrel of a gun · participle present staring down the barrel of a gun · participle past stared down the barrel of a gun · past stared down the barrel of a gun

  1. idiomaticinformalTo face a serious, dangerous, or very unpleasant situation that feels imminent or unavoidable.

    Synonyms: stare down the barrel of something

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo face a serious, dangerous, or very unpleasant situation that feels imminent or unavoidable.

Similar
stare down the barrel of something
Also see
stare down the barrel of something
Cite this entry
APA

stare down the barrel of a gun. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stare%20down%20the%20barrel%20of%20a%20gun

MLA

“stare down the barrel of a gun.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stare%20down%20the%20barrel%20of%20a%20gun. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stare down the barrel of a gun,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stare%20down%20the%20barrel%20of%20a%20gun.

Source: stare down the barrel of a gun on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.