revolver

Everyday

A small gun (a pistol) with a turning cylinder holding several bullets. tree →

In the lessons

Met in history (Wild West, wars), detective stories and The Wind in the Willows, where Badger and the friends take weapons — pistols, cudgels and swords — to win back Toad Hall from the weasels. Safety: real guns are dangerous; if you ever see one, do not touch it, move away and tell an adult.

Examples

• The cowboy carried a revolver on his belt. tree →
• A revolver holds six bullets in a turning cylinder. tree →
• The detective found a revolver in the drawer. tree →
• Badger armed the friends with pistols and cudgels. tree →
• If you find a gun, don't touch it — tell an adult. tree →
• Police in some countries carry revolvers. tree →
• There they await the onslaught, the inexperienced ones clutching their revolvers and treading on twigs, but the old hands sleeping tranquilly until just before the dawn. tree →

Note

From «revolve» (to turn round), because the cylinder turns. Countable. Different from a rifle (long gun) and a pistol (a general word for a hand gun).