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under the gun

 - 6 dictionary results
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gun

1  [guhn] noun, verb, gunned, gun⋅ning.
Use under the gun in a Sentence
–noun
1. a weapon consisting of a metal tube, with mechanical attachments, from which projectiles are shot by the force of an explosive; a piece of ordnance.
2. any portable firearm, as a rifle, shotgun, or revolver.
3. a long-barreled cannon having a relatively flat trajectory.
4. any device for shooting something under pressure: a paint gun; a staple gun.
5. Slang. a person whose profession is killing; professional killer: a gangland gun.
6. British. a member of a shooting party.
7. electron gun.
–verb (used with object)
8. to shoot with a gun (often fol. by down): The guards gunned down the fleeing convict.
9. to cause (an engine, vehicle, aircraft, etc.) to increase in speed very quickly by increasing the supply of fuel.
–verb (used without object)
10. to hunt with a gun.
11. to shoot with a gun.
—Verb phrase
12. gun for,
a. to seek with intent to harm or kill.
b. to seek; try earnestly to obtain: He is gunning for a raise.
—Idioms
13. give the gun, Slang. to put into motion or speed up: We gave the motor the gun and drove off.
14. jump the gun, Slang.
a. to begin a race before the starting signal.
b. to begin prematurely; act too hastily.
15. spike someone's guns, to frustrate or prevent someone from accomplishing a plan: Our competitors planned a surprise reduction in their rates, but we discovered it and were able to spike their guns.
16. stick to one's guns, to maintain one's position in the face of opposition; stand firm: They stuck to their guns and refused to submit. Also, stand by one's guns.
17. under the gun, under pressure, as to meet a deadline or solve a problem: We're all under the gun with these new sales quotas.
Origin:
1300–50; ME gunne, gonne, appar. short for AL Gunilda, gonnyld, name for engine of war; cf. ON Gunna, short for Gunnhildr woman's name

Related forms:
gunless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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gun   (gŭn)   
n.  

  1. A weapon consisting of a metal tube from which a projectile is fired at high velocity into a relatively flat trajectory.

  2. A cannon with a long barrel and a relatively low angle of fire.

  3. A portable firearm, such as a rifle or revolver.

  4. A device resembling a firearm or cannon, as in its ability to project something, such as grease, under pressure or at great speed.

  5. A discharge of a firearm or cannon as a signal or salute.

  6. One, such as a hunter, who carries or uses a gun.

    1. A person skilled in the use of a gun.

    2. A professional killer: a hired gun.

  8. The throttle of an engine, as of an automobile.

v.   gunned, gun·ning, guns

v.   tr.

  1. To shoot (a person): a bank robber who was gunned down by the police.

  2. To open the throttle of (an engine) so as to accelerate: gunned the engine and sped off.

  3. Maine To hunt (game).

v.   intr.
To hunt with a gun.
Phrasal Verb(s):
gun for

  1. To pursue relentlessly so as to overcome or destroy.

  2. To go after in earnest; set out to obtain: gunning for a promotion.


Idiom(s):
go great gunsTo proceed or perform with great speed, skill, or success.

Idiom(s):
hold a gun to (someone's) headTo put pressure on someone.

Idiom(s):
under the gunUnder great pressure or under threat.

[Middle English gonne, cannon, short for Gunilda, woman's name applied to a siege engine, from Old Norse Gunnhildr, woman's name : gunnr, war; see gwhen- in Indo-European roots + hildr, war.]
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
gun

  1. n.
    a hired gunman; a bodyguard, an assassin, or a member of a gang of criminals. (Underworld and Western.) : Willie and his guns came by to remind Gary of what he owed Mr. Gutman.
  2. n.
    a leader; the key member of a group. : Who's the gun around here?
  3. tv.
    to race an engine; to rev up an engine. : See how loud it is when I gun it?

  4. Go to guns. :
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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under the gun

  1. mod.
    under pressure; under scrutiny. : They've got the boss under the gun to get this thing wound up by Saturday.
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

gun 
1339, gunne "an engine of war that throws rocks, arrows or other missiles," probably a shortening of woman's name Gunilda, found in M.E. gonnilde "cannon" and in an Anglo-L. reference to a specific gun from a 1330 munitions inventory of Windsor Castle ("...una magna balista de cornu quae Domina Gunilda ..."), from O.N. Gunnhildr, woman's name (from gunnr + hildr, both meaning "war, battle"); the identification of women with powerful weapons is common historically (cf. Big Bertha, Brown Bess, etc.); meaning shifted with technology, from cannons to firearms as they developed 15c. Great guns (cannon, etc.) distinguished from small guns (such as muskets) from c.1408. First applied to pistols and revolvers 1744. Meaning "thief, rascal" is from 1858. The verb meaning "to shoot with a gun" is from 1622; the sense of "to accelerate an engine" is from 1930. Gun-shy is 1884, originally of sporting dogs. Son of a gun is originally nautical. Gun-metal (commonly an alloy of copper and zinc) used attributively of a dull blue-gray color since 1905. Gunboat is from 1793; gunboat diplomacy is from 1927, originally with reference to China.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

under the gun

Under pressure to solve a problem or meet a deadline, as in The reporter was under the gun for that article on taxes. This idiom alludes to a gun being pointed at a person to force him or her to act. [Colloquial; c. 1900]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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