pistol

/ˈpɪstl/

/ˈpɪstəl/

Other forms: pistols; pistolled; pistolling

A pistol is a small handgun. Unlike a shotgun or a rifle, you can hold and fire a pistol with one hand.

Sometimes the word pistol is used for any handgun, but many people distinguish between the pistol, with its single chamber, and the revolver, which has a cylinder that rotates and holds many bullets. The earliest pistols were used in sixteenth century Europe, and the English word comes from the Middle French pistolet, meaning both "small firearm" and "small dagger." You can also call someone who's full of energy a pistol.

Definitions of pistol

1. noun

   a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
   synonyms: handgun, shooting iron, side arm

   types:

   automatic, automatic pistol

   a pistol that will keep firing until the ammunition is gone or the trigger is released

   derringer

   a pocket pistol of large caliber with a short barrel

   forty-five

   a .45-caliber pistol

   gat, rod

   a gangster's pistol

   horse pistol, horse-pistol

   a large pistol (usually in a holster) formerly carried by horsemen

   peacekeeper

   the pistol of a law officer in the old West

   revolver, six-gun, six-shooter

   a pistol with a revolving cylinder (usually having six chambers for bullets)

   Saturday night special

   a cheap handgun that is easily obtained

   semiautomatic, semiautomatic pistol

   a pistol that is a semiautomatic firearm capable of loading and firing continuously

   Verey pistol, Very pistol

   a pistol for firing Very-light flares

   zip gun

   a crude homemade pistol

   Colt

   a kind of revolver

   Luger

   a German semiautomatic pistol

   type of:

   firearm, piece, small-arm

   a portable gun