gunned

verb

past tense of gun
as in drilled
to strike with a missile from a gun traded stories of the Wild West, when outlaws gunned men down in broad daylight and in cold blood

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gunned Billini worked as an analyst for the state court system in the Bronx and was close to retirement when Moore gunned her down, relatives said. — Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 23 Sep. 2026 When Nabers was sidelined, the Giants had a conspicuous lack of offensive game-wreckers, and Dart was routinely out-gunned. — Andy Behrens, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026 In a playoff win against Escondido Charter, Kyles dived to her left, quickly sprang to her feet and gunned out the batter. — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2026 Cruising along at 9-of-10, Maye gunned two more passes to Douglas and beat instant pressure with a slant completion to Brown. — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 9 June 2026 Underscoring the stakes for Louisville residents is the March fatal shooting of a 28-year-old woman named Katelyn Hall, who was experiencing a mental health crisis when police gunned her down in her own apartment. — Topher Sanders, ProPublica, 2 June 2026 Although, after the rapid-fire fundraise by Anthropic — a near triple from February, not easy when your prior valuation was already north of $300 billion — things seem pretty shot-gunned. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 31 May 2026 About noon Larry gunned the Maule — heavily loaded with moose meat — to a heart-stopping takeoff from the makeshift strip. — Ben East, Outdoor Life, 14 May 2026 Cobb Vanth The old-fashioned cowboy wore Boba Fett's armor and weapons as the marshal of Mos Pelgo on Tatooine and was an loyal ally of the Mando – until Cad Bane gunned him down in cold blood. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gunned
  1. drilled
  2. popped
  3. shot
  4. killed
  5. plugged
  6. slaughtered
  7. dropped
  8. destroyed
Verb
  • Broncos kicker Wil Lutz drilled a 53-yard field goal in overtime to elevate Denver to a 17-14 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Just two years ago, in 2024, Schmidt and the Trades Council were on opposite sides of a different ballot measure proposal — one over an oil industry effort to repeal a law banning oil and gas wells from being drilled too close to parks and schools.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of drilled
Verb
  • The $11 million spread is listed with Wade Weathers and Meg Kauffman at LandVest Christie’s International Real Estate and has come to market shortly after Vermont’s most expensive home popped up for sale.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Kyle Tucker popped up to center, and Teoscar Hernandez struck out on a ball off the plate by about two and a half feet.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of popped
Verb
  • Last year, a Senatobia officer threatened a Black woman with a Taser, pulling her from her car and onto the ground and arresting her during a confrontation over an accessible parking space in the same Walmart lot where Kohen was shot.
    — SOPHIE BATES, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
  • While traveling with then-President Ronald Reagan in 1981, White House press secretary James Brady was shot during an assassination attempt on the president.
    — Chandelis Duster, NPR, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of shot
Verb
  • At the conference on Thursday, police did not name the victims, the shooter, or the bystander who killed him.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The subsequent airstrike killed him and, according to independent estimates, at least 125 other people.
    — Halla Tómasdóttir, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of killed
Verb
  • Each console was tested in the device's performance mode while plugged directly into power, with the only difference being the resolution.
    — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The roommate then plugged the camera in and saw several videos of Long inside the bedroom testing out the device, according to the report.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of plugged
Verb
  • Fifteen people were slaughtered, including relatives of Maram, and some of her neighbors.
    — Mosab Abu Toha, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Already, in South Africa, an ostrich flock that survives bird flu would only be quarantined and rigorously tested for reinfection, not slaughtered.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of slaughtered
Verb
  • Seckler explains that young people’s trust in institutions and companies has dropped.
    — Muskaan Arshad, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Moody's, citing PitchBook data, said private equity distributions dropped from more than 30% of starting net asset value in 2022 to about 12% today.
    — Hugh Leask, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of dropped
Verb
  • Firefighters battling a blaze that destroyed six homes in south Orange County can expect a bit of reprieve Saturday afternoon as Santa Ana winds begin to die down.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Its owners, a family of three, left for a cruise before the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel destroyed their property.
    — Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroyed

Browse Nearby Words

gunmen
gunned
gunned (for)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gunned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gunned. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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