arms

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Weapons

Nouns

1. arms, weapon[s], weaponry, firearms, armament, engine of war, materiel; hardware; panoply, stand of arms, military establishment; armory, arsenal (See store); armor (See defense). See warfare, provision.

2. ammunition, munitions, explosive. Slang, hardware.

a. ball, bolt, shot, grape [shot], chain shot, pellet, bullet, dumdum bullet, spitzer, cartridge, shell, fragmentation shell, shrapnel. Informal, ammo.

b. tactical or strategic weapon; missile, projectile; grenade, fireball; bomb, antipersonnel bomb, cluster bomb, demolition bomb, dynamite bomb, pipe bomb, ash-can, napalm or incendiary bomb, stink bomb, smoke bomb, time bomb, depth charge; radiation enhancement weapon; [thermo]nuclear warhead, atomic bomb, A-bomb, fission bomb, hydrogen bomb, H-bomb, thermonuclear bomb, fusion bomb, neutron bomb, clean bomb, plutonium bomb; blockbuster; torpedo, guided missile, selective ordnance, heat-seeking missile, Nike, Patriot, Exocet, surface-to-air missile, ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile), rocket, Vi, V2; antiballistic or antimissile missile, robot bomb; rocket bomb (See propulsion); gas bomb; [land or ground] mine, claymore, pressure, sonic, or castrator mine, fougasse. Informal, Molotov cocktail; [mini]nuke; daisy-cutter. Slang, pineapple; smart bomb.

3. artillery, gun[s], field or siege gun, gunnery, cannon, battery, ordnance, ballistics; piece, fieldpiece, howitzer, mortar, trench gun, stern chaser; siege, coast, or field artillery; Big Bertha, Long Tom, French 75. two-pounder, ten-pounder, eight-inch, sixteen-inch, etc.; carronade, culverin, basilisk, serpentine, falcon[et], jingle, swivel, petard; antiaircraft, AA, ackack, pompom; bazooka, rocket-launcher, Stinger, missile (See propulsion); flamethrower. Informal, flak.

4. machine gun, submachine gun, machine pistol, mitrailleuse, assault rifle, pompom, Gatling gun, Maxim gun, Browning machine gun, Bren gun, Thompson or Tommy gun, Uzi. Slang, chopper, burp gun.

5. small arms; musket[ry], carbine, rifle, shotgun, chokebore, over-and-under, side-by-side, sawed-off shotgun, scattergun, pump-action rifle, bolt- or lever-action rifle, recoilless rifle, fowling piece, breechloader, muzzle-loader, chassepot, blunderbuss, jingal, harquebus, arquebus, matchlock, flintlock, petronel, flint-and-steel;.22,.25,.32,.38,.44,.45,.30-30,.30-06. etc.; 8-, 12-, 16-gauge, etc.; Kentucky long rifle, Springfield, Enfield, Winchester, Lee-Enfield, Garand, etc.; pistol, automatic, semiautomatic, derringer, repeater, magazine gun, magnum, revolver, pepperbox, percussion gun, hammerless [revolver], six-shooter, six-gun; stun gun; Colt, Smith and Wesson, Luger, Beretta, etc.; BB gun; air rifle or gun. Informal, Saturday night special. Slang, piece, gat, glock, rod, heater, equalizer, iron, roscoe, zip gun, hush-hush, nina, nine, speaker.

6. (firearm parts) action, bolt, bore, butt[stock], caliber, chamber, cleaning rod, clip, cock, hammer, cradle, firing pin, sight, gauge, grenade launcher, gunlock, gunpowder, holster, magazine, muzzle, peep sight, percussion lock, pin, pistol grip, propellant, range finder, rear sight, refling, safety, scope, side lock, silencer, tampion, telescopic sight, trunnion.

7. (mechanical weapon) armored vehicle, tank; battering ram; bombard;

catapult, mangonel, trebuchet, onager, sling[shot] (See propulsion).

8. (swords and knives) sword, saber, broadsword, backsword, cutlass, curtalax, falchion, scimitar, katana, bilbo, rapier, barong, skean, claymore, creese, spatha, kukri, Toledo; dagger, anlace, dirk, hanger, kirpan, parazonium, poniard, stiletto, stylet, dudgeon, bayonet, misericord, kris, kuttar, puntilla; foil, épée, blade, steel; ax, poleax, battleax, halberd, tomahawk, Lochaber ax; bowie knife, bolo, kukri, pigsticker, switchblade [knife], barlow, clasp knife, jackknife, yataghan, snickersnee, kard, skean dhu; cold steel. Slang, shank, shivhot supper. See sharpness.

9. (lance) pike, lance, spear, assegai, atlatl, spontoon, javelin, dart, banderilla, djerrid, pilum, arrow, reed, shaft, bolt, boomerang, harpoon, gaff; ounji stake; fishing spear; blowgun, blowpipe, blowtube.

10. (club) club, mace, truncheon, staff, bludgeon, cudgel, bastinado, life preserver, shillelagh, knobkerrie, nulla-nulla, pogamuggan, nunchaku; quarterstaff; battering ram (see impulse); bat, knuckle-duster, brass knuckles or knucks; blackjack, sap, billy, nightstick. Slang, cosh.

11. archery, bow [and arrow], longbow; crossbow, arbalest, ballista, elastic gun; catapult, sling; bola.

12. warship (See ship).

13. (chemical weapon) [poison or nerve] gas, chemical agent; [nuclear] fallout, anthrax.

14. armsmaker, fletcher; armory, arsenal.

Verbs — arm, equip, provision.

Adjectives — armed, equipped, etc.; armed [to the teeth], in arms.

Quotations — This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children (Dwight D. Eisenhower), A bayonet is a weapon with a worker at each end (Anon.), The sword is the axis of the world and its power is absolute (Charles de Gaulle), The period of debate is closed. Arms, as a last resource, must decide the contest (Thomas Paine), Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by man (George S. Patton).

II

(Roget's IV) pl.n.

1. [Weapons]

Syn. weapons, armament, armor, ammunition, firearms, munitions, panoply, guns, small arms, side arms, missiles, accouterments, instruments of war, harness, deadly weapons, lethal weapons, means of offense and defense, martial array, pistols, rifles, machine guns, equipment, supplies, orDNAnce, artillery, weaponry, materiel, hardware*, ammo*; see also munitions .

Arms include: MRV (multiple re-entry vehicle), MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle), ABM (anti-ballistic missile), ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile), sword, broadsword, foil, dagger, stiletto, bayonet, cutlass, scimitar, machete, saber, ax, halberd, partisan, bill, tomahawk, hatchet, spear, pike, javelin, lance, boomerang, arrow, cross-bow, missile, club, truncheon, bludgeon, cudgel, mace, sling, longbow, catapult, musket, blunderbuss, matchlock, breechloader, harquebus, pistol, cannon, BAR (Browning automatic rifle), machine gun, submachine gun, rifle, M1, M14, M16, AK47, Uzi, Thompson submachine gun (Tommy gun), carbine, bazooka, trench mortar, hand grenade, howitzer, antitank gun, antiaircraft gun, depth bomb, gun, revolver, shotgun, switchblade, blackjack, knife, Saturday night special.

2. [The design used by family, town, etc., as its sign]

Syn. coat of arms, ensign, crest, insignia, heraldic bearings, heraldic devices, heraldic emblems, armorial ensigns or bearings, shield, escutcheon, scutcheon, emblazonry, blazonry, blazon, official insignia, signet, pennon.

• bear arms,

Syn. carry weapons, be armed, be militant, serve in the military, see active duty, soldier; see also arm 2 , fight 2 .

• take up arms,

Syn. go to war, rebel, do battle; see fight 2 .

• under arms,

Syn. outfitted, in battle formation, fortified; see armed .

• up in arms,

Syn. hostile, indignant, willing to fight; see angry .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

weapons, armaments, ordnance, munitions, armor, ammunition. see ammunition, bomb, bullet, gun, missile, nuclear bomb, war, weapon

IV

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

in an uproar, hostile, prepared for war.