A firearm that is held and fired with one hand.

synonyms: handgun, shooting iron, side arm.

Roget 727: arm, arms; weapon, deadly weapon; armament, armaments, armature; panoply, stand of arms; armor etc. (defense) 717; armory etc. (store) 636; apparatus belli [Lat.].    ammunition; powder, powder and shot; cartridge; ball cartridge, cartouche, fireball; villainous saltpeter" [Henry IV]; dumdum bullet.    explosive; gunpowder, guncotton; mercury fulminate; picrates; pentaerythritol tetranitrate, PETN.    high explosive; trinitrotoluene, TNT; dynamite, melinite^†, cordite, lyddite, plastic explosive, plastique; pyroxyline^†.    [knives and swords: list] sword, saber, broadsword, cutlass, falchion^†, scimitar, cimeter^†, brand, whinyard, bilbo, glaive^†, glave^†, rapier, skean, Toledo, Ferrara, tuck, claymore, adaga^†, baselard^†, Lochaber ax, skean dhu^†, creese^†, kris, dagger, dirk, banger^†, poniard, stiletto, stylet^†, dudgeon, bayonet; sword-bayonet, sword-stick; side arms, foil, blade, steel; ax, bill; pole-ax, battle-ax; gisarme^†, halberd, partisan, tomahawk, bowie knife^†; ataghan^†, attaghan^†, yataghan^†; yatacban^†; assagai, assegai^†; good sword, trusty sword, naked sword; cold steel.    club, mace, truncheon, staff, bludgeon, cudgel, life preserver, shillelah, sprig; hand staff, quarter staff; bat, cane, stick, knuckle duster; billy, blackjack, sandbag, waddy^†.    gun, piece [Fr.]; firearms; artillery, ordnance; siege train, battering train; park, battery; cannon, gun of position, heavy gun, field piece [Fr.], mortar, howitzer, carronade^†, culverin^†, basilisk; falconet, jingal^†, swivel, pederero^†, bouche a feu [Fr.]; petard, torpedo; mitrailleur [Fr.], mitrailleuse [Fr.]; infernal machine; smooth bore, rifled cannon, Armstrong gun^†, Lancaster gun, Paixhan gun, Whitworth gun, Parrott gun, Krupp gun, Gatling gun, Maxim gun, machine gun; pompom^†; ten pounder.    small arms; musket, musketry, firelock^†, fowling piece [Fr.], rifle, fusil^†, caliver^†, carbine, blunderbuss, musketoon^†, Brown Bess, matchlock, harquebuss^†, arquebus, haguebut^†; pistol, postolet^†; petronel; small bore; breach-loader, muzzle-loader; revolver, repeater; Minis rifle, Enfield rifle, Flobert rifle, Westley Richards rifle, Snider rifle, Martini-Henry rifle, Lee-Metford rifle, Lee-Enfield rifle, Mauser rifle, magazine rifle; needle gun, chassepot^†; wind gun, air gun; automatic gun, automatic pistol; escopet^†, escopette^†, gunflint, gun-lock; hackbut^†, shooter, shooting iron [U.S.], six-shooter [U.S.], shotgun; Uzzi, assault rifle, Kalashnikov.    bow, crossbow, balister^†, catapult, sling; battering ram etc. (impulse) 276; gunnery; ballistics etc. (propulsion) 284.    missile, bolt, projectile, shot, ball; grape; grape shot, canister shot, bar shot, cannon shot, langrel shot^†, langrage shot^†, round shot, chain shot; balista^†, ballista^†, slung shot, trebucbet^†, trebucket^†; bullet, slug, stone, brickbat, grenade, shell, bomb, carcass, rocket; congreve^†, congreve rocket^†; shrapnel, mitraille [Fr.]; levin bolt^†, levin brand^†; thunderbolt.    pike, lance, spear, spontoon^†, javelin, dart, jereed^†, jerid^†, arrow, reed, shaft, bolt, boomerang, harpoon, gaff; eelspear^†, oxgoad^†, weet-weet, wommerah^†; cattle prod; chemical mace.    ... show more

Dutch: vuistvuurwapen, opdondertje, blaffer, pistool
Polish: pistolet, gnat