Winchester rifle

American

noun

a type of magazine rifle, first made in about 1866.

Winchester rifle British

noun

Often shortened to: Winchester. a breech-loading lever-action repeating rifle with a tubular magazine under the barrel

"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

Etymology

Origin of Winchester rifle

1870–75; named after D. F. Winchester (1810–80), American manufacturer

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One is the Winchester Mystery House, a 160-room mansion the widow of the Winchester rifle company founder kept expanding over a century ago reportedly to appease spirits of the gun’s victims.

From The Wall Street Journal

She argued further that “a Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home, and it should be used for that protection which the law refuses to give.”

From Washington Post

The ad shows her firing a 12-gauge Weatherby shotgun used to hunt dove and quail, a .270 Winchester rifle for deer hunting, and “her favorite” .44 Magnum revolver.

From Washington Times

They tied up their horses and were heading inside when the sergeant asked Tom where his Winchester rifle was.

From Literature

Lin McAdam wins a sharp-shooting contest and claims a Winchester rifle as a prize.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023