single-action

[ sing-guhl-ak-shuhn ]

adjective

1. (of a firearm) requiring the cocking of the hammer before firing each shot:

   a single-action revolver.

single-action

noun

1. modifier (of a firearm) requiring the hammer to be cocked by hand before firing

Word History and Origins

Origin of single-action¹

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

We're not talking hunting rifles here at all, or single-action handguns.

From The Daily Beast

The legislature found time to designate an official “state firearm,” the Colt Single Action Army Revolver.

From The Daily Beast

On that day it performed prodigies of valor, and achieved successes as pregnant with good results as any single action of the war.

From Project Gutenberg

He resolved by a single action to defeat their calculations and stamp his sincerity on the memories of his countrymen.

From Project Gutenberg

A light, single-action click reel of German silver or aluminum of fifty or sixty yards' capacity is the best.

From Project Gutenberg

On the contrary, single-action reels are made of rather numerous materials and certainly in varying degrees of desirability.

From Project Gutenberg

It is taken for granted in the above discussion, and also in the following, that the fly-caster uses a single-action reel.

From Project Gutenberg