carbine
Americannoun
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a light, gas-operated semiautomatic rifle.
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(formerly) a short rifle used in the cavalry.
noun
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a light automatic or semiautomatic rifle of limited range
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Also called: carabin. carabine. a light short-barrelled shoulder rifle formerly used by cavalry
Etymology
Origin of carbine
1595–1605; earlier carabine < Middle French: small harquebus, weapon borne by a carabin a lightly armed cavalryman, compared with ( e ) scarabin gravedigger for plague victims (< Provençal, akin to French escarbot cockchafer, dung beetle ≪ Latin scarabaeus scarab ), though semantic change is unclear
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.
Pusser indeed owned a lot of guns, including a .30 carbine caliber revolver that Mike Elam managed to procure over the course of his investigation.
From Slate • Nov. 6, 2025
But any of them might point to Don Hogan Charles’ photo of him peering out of his window while holding an M1 carbine.
From Salon • Feb. 3, 2024
It has been a huge success for the company, which has sold around 60,000 units of the 5.56 mm semi-automatic carbine, helping to lift its share price around 350% since the start of 2019.
From Reuters • Sep. 21, 2022
Mr. Lerner, whose combat experience was limited to three snowy days firing a carbine from a trench in Luxembourg during the Battle of the Bulge, recalled a foray behind enemy lines.
From New York Times • Sep. 17, 2022
The old Buster was sitting among some rocks, aiming the carbine, looking chipper.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
