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gunnery

American  
[guhn-uh-ree] / ˈgʌn ə ri /

noun

  1. the art and science of constructing and operating guns, especially large guns.

  2. the act of firing guns. gun.

  3. guns gun collectively.


gunnery British  
/ ˈɡʌnərɪ /

noun

  1. the art and science of the efficient design and use of ordnance, esp artillery

  2. guns collectively

  3. the use and firing of guns

  4. (modifier) of, relating to, or concerned with heavy guns, as in warfare

    a gunnery officer

"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 gunnery

First recorded in 1490–1500; gun 1 + -ery

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.

Matt served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as an infantry squad leader and gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps.

From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026

Instead, the Admiralty fed information about their system to a naval officer named Frederick Dreyer, who was a capable gunnery officer but not the great inventor he fancied himself to be.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

It included a live-fire gunnery exercise conducted by the guided missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

In 1943 he joined the Navy, where as a seaman he carried out general ship and gunnery duties on the Flower class corvette HMS Potentilla.

From BBC • Oct. 7, 2025

“I remember when I first met him like it was yesterday,” says Richard Gregory, who was Van Riper’s gunnery sergeant in Mike Company.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell