gunfight

Etymology

It is formed from English gun + fight.^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A battle in which guns are fired, especially in early use a sea battle with cannon fire: 1659, in D. Pell's Pelagos, which speaks of sailors used to "great roaring Gun-fights".^[2][4] Dictionary.com dates it to 1650–60.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The early sea-battle sense gave way to a fight between two or more people with handguns,^[2] a use Etymonline records from 1889, in American English.^[3] Collins labels the word chiefly US.^[6] The agent noun gunfighter is recorded from 1873,^[2] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged also has a verb gunfight, to take part in a gunfight.^[4]

Timeline

• 1659 – a battle with an exchange of gunfire, especially a sea battle.^[2][4]
• 1889 – a fight between people with handguns, in American English.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fight between people using guns, especially handguns; a sustained exchange of gunfire: The film ends with a gunfight in the street.^[6][4][2]

Verb

1. To take part in a gunfight.^[4]

Word family

• gunfighter

Related words

• gun
• fight

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins