carbine

noun

car·​bine ˈkär-ˌbēn How to pronounce carbine (audio)
-ˌbīn
1
: a short-barreled lightweight firearm originally used by cavalry
2
: a light short-barreled repeating rifle that is used as a supplementary military arm or for hunting in dense brush

Examples of carbine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This futuristic-looking, semiautomatic pistol calibre carbine required no regulated components and was fully DIY. Rajan Basra, WIRED, 5 July 2024 Winchester chambering was added in 1966 and the carbine model in ’67. Dave Hurteau, Field & Stream, 4 July 2024 As such, one of the silent auction items up for grabs that night was something that to a beer drinker is what an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle was to Ralphie. Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 4 Apr. 2024 His face marked by the scars where two 30 caliber carbine slugs blasted half of his face away, former McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser points to a section along a lonely blacktop road where he and his wife Pauline were ambushed in 1967. CBS News, 9 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for carbine 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'carbine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French charabine, carabine, feminine derivative of carabin "lightly armed cavalryman," perhaps a jocular designation altered from escarrabin, scarrabin "grave digger for plague victims," probably alteration by suffix substitution of escarbot "dung beetle," going back to Old French escharbot, from escharb- (going back to the base of Latin scarabaeus "beetle") + -ot, noun suffix (going back to Vulgar Latin *-ottus, diminutive suffix) — more at scarab

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of carbine was in 1592

Dictionary Entries Near carbine

Cite this Entry

“Carbine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carbine. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

carbine

noun
car·​bine ˈkär-ˌbēn How to pronounce carbine (audio)
-ˌbīn
: a light short-barreled rifle

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