pistol

[ pis-tl ]

noun

1. a short firearm intended to be held and fired with one hand.

verb (used with object)

, pis·toled, pis·tol·ing or (especially British) pis·tolled, pis·tol·ling.

1. to shoot with a pistol.

pistol

/ ˈpɪstəl /

noun

1. a short-barrelled handgun
2. hold a pistol to a person's head
   to threaten a person in order to force him to do what one wants

verb

1. tr to shoot with a pistol

Other Words From

• pistol·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pistol¹

1560–70; < Middle French pistole < German, earlier pitschal, pitschole, petsole < Czech píšt’ala literally, pipe, fife, whistle (presumably a slang term for a type of light harquebus employed during the Hussite wars), akin to pištět to squeak, peep

Word History and Origins

Origin of pistol¹

C16: from French pistole, from German, from Czech pišt'ala pistol, pipe; related to Russian pischal shepherd's pipes

Example Sentences

In his call to authorities about the mosque, he claimed that he had an illegally modified AR-15, a Glock 17 pistol, pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails.

From Los Angeles Times

"Then he got this imitation pistol out. I thought, 'oh my god'. I couldn't speak. But he didn't deserve an IPP for that."

From BBC

But he says security personnel detained him, hit him on the head with a pistol and forced him to sign a document recanting his evidence.

From BBC

You are asking me to make a prediction and I don't know which gun I've got - a bazooka or a water pistol.

From BBC

The other helped him buy two replica pistols on 16 October, the day of the attack, and then drove him to the school.

From BBC

Related Words

• firearm
• gun
• handgun
• rod