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gunmetal
gulp² n 1 [(of)] a large mouthful: She took a few gulps of coffee
and rushed out of the house. 2 an act of gulping: He gave a
nervous gulp.
gum¹ /gʌm/ n [usually pl.] either of the two areas of firm pink
flesh in which the teeth are fixed, at the top and bottom of
the mouth: Massage your gums after cleaning your teeth.
gum² n 1 [U] any of several sticky substances obtained from
the stems of some trees and bushes 2 [U] a sticky substance
used for sticking things together: These labels have gum on
the back. 3 [U] CHEWING GUM or BUBBLE GUM 4 [C] also
gumdrop —, a hard transparent jelly-like sweet: a fruit
gum 5 [C] a GUM TREE
gum³ v -mm- [T+obj+adv/prep] to stick (something) in position
with GUM²: She gummed the labels to her suitcase.
gum sthg. ↔ up phr v [T] infml to prevent from working
properly: All this dirt that has got into my watch has
gummed up the works.
gum⁴ n by gum BrE dial, AmE dial, or humor (used as an expression
of surprise)
gum-ball /'gʌmbɔːl/ n [C] AmE CHEWING GUM in the form of
a small round brightly coloured sweet
Gum-bel, Bryant /'gʌmbəl, 'braɪənt/ (1948–) a US tele-
vision presenter, known especially for sports programmes
gum-bo /'gʌmbəʊ/ n pl. -bos 1 [U] a soup with meat or
seafood, vegetables, and OKRA to thicken it, made popular by
CAJUN cooking from the southern US 2 [C] AmE dial for OKRA
gum-boil /'gʌmbɔɪl/ n infml a painful swelling on the GUM
usually near a tooth which is decayed; ABSCESS
gum-boot /'gʌmbuːt/ n especially BrE a WELLINGTON
gum-my /'gʌmi/ adj sticky; covered with sticky GUM²
—miness n [U]
'Gummy Bears trademark a type of small, CHEWY, clear,
coloured sweets sold in the US. They look like little bears and
have a fruity taste.
gump-tion /'gʌmpʃən/ n [U] infml 1 the ability to think and
act in a practical way; good sense: When the pan of chips
caught fire he had the gumption to cover it with a damp
cloth. 2 the ability to take action needing courage and
determination: It takes a lot of gumption to start up your own
business single-handed.
gum-shoe /'gʌmˌʃuː/ n AmE slang for DETECTIVE
gum tree n 1 any of various trees that produce gum 2 the
American sweet gum tree 3 also gum — especially AustrE the
EUCALYPTUS tree 4 up a gum tree BrE infml in a difficult
situation with no means of escape
gun¹ /gʌn/ n 1 a weapon from which bullets or SHELLS are
fired through a metal tube (BARREL). Gun ownership is
strictly controlled in Britain, and most of the police force do
not carry guns. In the US, the police carry guns and the public
often own them. → see GUN CONTROL
CULTURAL NOTE Gun Culture in the UK In the UK, crimes
involving guns greatly increased in the 1990s, especially in
the poorer areas of cities such as London, Manchester,
and Birmingham. Many murders involving guns are
connected with fights between GANGS, and this is often
related to drug DEALING. A series of murders in 2002
made many people very worried about the problem of gun
crime. The police have taken measures to try to reduce
gun crime, for example arranging gun amnesties
(AMNESTY) which allow people who have guns to give
them to the police without being PROSECUTED. After
someone has been shot, it is often very difficult for the
police to find WITNESSES because people are frightened of
reporting crimes COMMITTED (=done) by people from their
own community. Gun Culture in the US In the US, many
ordinary people own guns, and most people who own
guns say they have them to protect themselves or to
HUNT with. People who own guns say that the
Constitution of the US gives them the right to have a gun,
because it says that people should have a 'right to bear
arms'. The National Rifle Association (NRA) is a very
strong organization which supports ordinary citizens
owning guns and often tries to prevent any laws which
would limit people buying or owning guns. There are laws
about who is allowed to buy a gun, and most states have
a law that says someone who is buying a gun must wait a
particular number of days between paying for the gun and
being allowed to have it. Many people in the US are either
murdered or killed accidentally by guns each year.
Murders are often related to crimes committed with guns
or to gang activity. There have been a number of times
when young people have shot other children at school,
and the worst case of this was at Columbine High School
in Colorado. Americans were very shocked by these
events. A lot of Americans want stronger laws against
people owning guns, and think that it is still too easy to
buy guns. Some laws have been passed which limit the
types of guns people are allowed to buy, and many
people would like to make these laws even stronger.
However, powerful groups such as the NRA argue against
doing this, and say that only criminals would then have
guns. People who want to keep owning guns also often
say that 'Guns don't kill people. People kill people.'
2 a tool which forces out and spreads a substance by
pressure: a grease gun 3 infml, especially AmE for GUNMAN: a hired
gun 4 do sth with (all) guns blazing also come out with
your guns blazing AmE to use all your energy and skill
against an opponent (often used in newspapers, television
etc): The prosecution have come out with their guns blazing,
determined to make good use of the new evidence. → see also
SON-OF-A-GUN, go great guns (GREAT¹), jump the gun
(JUMP¹), spike someone's guns (SPIKE²), stick to one's guns
(STICK TO)
gun² v, -nn-
gun for sbdy. phr v [T] infml, especially BrE to try to find reasons
for attacking or harming (someone): Ever since I proved he'd
made a mistake in the accounts he's been gunning for me,
trying to get me dismissed.
gun sbdy. ↔ down phr v [T] infml to shoot and kill or wound
with a gun, especially without pity: Innocent villagers were
gunned down by the terrorists.
gun-boat /'gʌnbəʊt/ n a small but heavily-armed naval
warship for use in waters near the coast
'gunboat diplomacy n [U] derog the use of a threat of
armed force by a country to support a claim, demand,
complaint etc, against another
'gun carriage n a frame with wheels on which a heavy gun
is moved from place to place
'gun con,trol n [U] laws which forbid or greatly restrict the
possessing or using of guns
gun-dog /'gʌndɒg||-dɔːg/ also bird dog AmE — n a dog
trained to help in the sport of shooting birds, especially by
finding and bringing back the dead bird
gun-fight /'gʌnfat/ n especially AmE a fight between two or
more people, using especially hand-held guns: a fierce gun-
fight between police and criminals
CULTURAL NOTE The STEREOTYPE of a gunfight in an old
WESTERN film is of two men who stand in an empty street
facing each other. The one who is 'quickest on the draw'
(=fastest at taking out his gun and shooting) usually wins.
gun-fight-er /'gʌnfaɪtə/ n a person who fights others,
using a gun, especially formerly in the American Wild West
gun-fire /'gʌnfaə/ n [U] the sound or act of firing one or
more guns
gunge /gʌnd/ BrE || gunk AmE — n [U] infml an unpleasant,
dirty, and/or sticky substance: What's this horrible gunge in
the bottom of the bucket?
gung-ho /ˌgʌŋ 'həʊ/ adj infml showing extreme, often foolish
eagerness, especially to attack an enemy: a gung-ho attitude
to international relations
gunk /gʌŋk/ v be gunked up (with) AmE infml to be blocked
with a dirty sticky substance: Here's your problem. The fuel
line's all gunked up.
'gun lobby n [the] (in the US) any group or groups who try
to influence Congress to defeat laws that will limit people's
rights to buy and keep guns → see also NATIONAL RIFLE
ASSOCIATION
gun-man /'gʌnmən/ n pl. -men /-mən/ a man armed with a
gun, especially a criminal or TERRORIST
gun-met-al /'gʌnˌmetl/ n [U] 1 a metal which is a mixture