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cannon

 [kan-uhn]   Example Sentences Origin

can·non

   [kan-uhn] noun, plural -nons, (especially collectively) -non, verb
noun
1.
a mounted gun for firing heavy projectiles; a gun, howitzer, or mortar.
2.
British Machinery. quill (def. 10).
3.
Armor. a cylindrical or semicylindrical piece of plate armor for the upper arm or forearm; a vambrace or rerebrace.
4.
Also called cannon bit, canon bit. a round bit for a horse.
5.
the part of a bit that is in the horse's mouth.
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6.
(on a bell) the metal loop by which a bell is hung.
7.
Zoology.
a.
cannon bone.
b.
the part of the leg in which the cannon bone is situated.
8.
British. a carom in billiards.
9.
Underworld Slang. a pickpocket.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
10.
to discharge cannon.
11.
British. to make a carom in billiards.

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Cannon is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Origin:
1375–1425 (earlier in Anglo-Latin, AF); late Middle English canon < Middle French < Italian cannone, equivalent to cann(a) tube (< Latin; see cane) + -one augmentative suffix

Can be confused: cannon, canon.
Example Sentences
  • The superiority of breach-loading cannon is practically acknowledged by the numerous and costly efforts made to produce them.
  • Once a commando, his officials must think, always a loose cannon.
  • He starts a cannon attack, and when the desired ship's flag is lowered, he claims it officially abandoned and takes the spoils.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

Can·non

   [kan-uhn]
noun
1.
Annie Jump  [juhmp] , 1863–1941, U.S. astronomer.
2.
Joseph Gur·ney  [gur-nee] , (“Uncle Joe”), 1836–1926, U.S. politician and legislator.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To cannon
Collins
World English Dictionary
cannon (ˈkænən)
 
—n , pl -nons, -non
1.  an automatic aircraft gun of large calibre
2.  history a heavy artillery piece consisting of a metal tube mounted on a carriage
3.  a heavy tube or drum, esp one that can rotate freely on the shaft by which it is supported
4.  the metal loop at the top of a bell, from which it is suspended
5.  See cannon bone
6.  billiards
 a.  a shot in which the cue ball is caused to contact one object ball after another
 b.  Usual US and Canadian word: carom the points scored by this
7.  a rebound or bouncing back, as of a ball off a wall
8.  either of the two parts of a vambrace
 
—vb (often foll by into)
9.  to collide (with)
10.  short for cannonade
11.  (intr) billiards to make a cannon
 
[C16: from Old French canon, from Italian cannone cannon, large tube, from canna tube, cane1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

cannon
c.1400, "tube for projectiles," from O.Fr. canon (14c.), from It. cannone "large tube," augmentive of L. canna "reed, tube" (see cane). Cannon fodder (1891) translates Ger. kanonenfutter (cf. Shakespeare's food for powder in "I Hen. IV"). Spelling not differentiated from canon
EXPAND
till c.1800. Cannon ball is from 1660s.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
Cannon   (kān'ən)  Pronunciation Key 
American astronomer noted for her work on classifying stellar spectra. Cannon classified the spectra of 225,300 stars brighter than magnitude 8.5, as well as 130,000 fainter stars.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

cannon definition


  1. n.
    a gun; a revolver. (Underworld.) : Rocko pulled out his cannon and aimed it at Marlowe's throat.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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