firing pin


nounOrdnance.
  1. a plunger in the firing mechanism of a firearm or cannon that strikes the cartridge primer, igniting the propelling charge.

Origin of firing pin

1
First recorded in 1870–75

Words Nearby firing pin

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

How to use firing pin in a sentence

  • He took it from her and pointed out where it had been dented by the firing-pin.

    Hidden Gold | Wilder Anthony
  • The frost-clogged firing pin did not respond, and the wolf, seeming to understand its peril, slunk away unharmed.

    The Gaunt Gray Wolf | Dillon Wallace
  • But the firing-pin is not the only means of exploding the torpedo.

    Inventions of the Great War | A. Russell (Alexander Russell) Bond
  • At the nose of the torpedo is a firing-pin, with which the war-head is exploded.

    Inventions of the Great War | A. Russell (Alexander Russell) Bond
  • Recognizing the situation at once, I rose up offhand and pulled, but the firing-pin failed.

British Dictionary definitions for firing pin

firing pin

noun
  1. the part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that ignites the charge by striking the primer

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