business end


noun
  1. the front part or end of a tool, weapon, etc., with which the work is done or from which a missile is ejected, as opposed to the handle or butt: the business end of a revolver; the business end of a screwdriver.

Origin of business end

1
First recorded in 1875–80

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use business end in a sentence

  • Sonny Williams, cool as ice behind the business end of a Tommy gun.

  • There was a quick flash, and Ben was staring into the business end of a Luger automatic, gripped tightly in the broker's hand.

    The Onslaught from Rigel | Fletcher Pratt
  • There comes an hour of evening when lower Broadway, the business end of the town, is deserted.

    Letters from America | Rupert Brooke
  • He expressed no opinion as to my marrying into such a family, but went about the business end with diligence.

    Man and Maid | Elinor Glyn
  • In working about a mule that kicks, it should be remembered that his head-quarters are not his real business end.

British Dictionary definitions for business end

business end

noun
  1. informal the part of a tool or weapon that does the work, as contrasted with the handle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012