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triggers

 - 5 dictionary results

trig⋅ger

  [trig-er]
Use triggers in a Sentence
–noun
1. a small projecting tongue in a firearm that, when pressed by the finger, actuates the mechanism that discharges the weapon.
2. a device, as a lever, the pulling or pressing of which releases a detent or spring.
3. anything, as an act or event, that serves as a stimulus and initiates or precipitates a reaction or series of reactions.
4. Slang. triggerman.
–verb (used with object)
5. to initiate or precipitate (a chain of events, scientific reaction, psychological process, etc.): Their small protest triggered a mass demonstration.
6. to fire or explode (a gun, missile, etc.) by pulling a trigger or releasing a triggering device: He accidentally triggered his rifle.
–verb (used without object)
7. to release a trigger.
8. to become active; activate.
—Idiom
9. quick on the trigger, Informal. quick to act or respond; impetuous; alert.
Origin:
1615–25; earlier tricker < D trekker, equiv. to trekk(en) to pull + -er -er 1

trig⋅ger⋅man

  [trig-er-muhn, -man]
–noun, plural -men  [-muhn, -men] . Informal.
1. a gangster who specializes in gunning people down.
2. a bodyguard, esp. of a gangster.
Also called trigger.

Origin:
1920–25; trigger + man 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To triggers
trig·ger   (trĭg'ər)   
n.  

    1. The lever pressed by the finger to discharge a firearm.

    2. A similar device used to release or activate a mechanism.

  2. An event that precipitates other events.

  3. Electronics A pulse or circuit that initiates the action of another component.

tr.v.   trig·gered, trig·ger·ing, trig·gers

  1. To set off; initiate: remarks that triggered bitter debates.

  2. To fire or explode (a weapon or an explosive charge).


[Dutch trekker, from Middle Dutch trecker, from trecken, to pull.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
trigger

  1. n.
    a hired gunman. (Underworld.) : Get your triggers outa here—then we can talk.
  2. tv.
    to start something; to set something off. : The noise triggered an avalanche.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

trigger  (n.)
1660, earlier tricker (1621), from Du. trekker "trigger," from trekken "to pull" (see trek). Tricker was the usual form in Eng. until c.1750. The verb is first recorded 1930, from the noun. Trigger-happy is attested from 1943.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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