gun

/ˈɡʌn/

//ˈɡʌn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"gun" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gun” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,168) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#1,168
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gun · gun · English

gun · rank #1,168 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,168
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH Friday

Nearest frequency peer: Friday (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “gun”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “gun” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

gun vs guy
67% similar
gun vs gym
33% similar
gun vs gut
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for gun
PropertyValue
Headwordgun
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡʌn/
Letters3
Frequency rank#1,168
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “gun”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).gunlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Friday” (#1,167), “happens” (#1,169), “expected” (#1,166). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gun” is #1,168. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for gun is neighbouring look-alikes ("guy", "gym", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈɡʌn/. Frequency #1,168 among 2,313 “G” headwords. 16 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for gun in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "guy", "gym", "gut", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English gunne, gonne, possibly from Gunnhild, a female given name formerly used as a nickname for engines of war (compare Nordic Gunn, a female name meaning “battle”). The name is composed of the Norse elements gunnr and hildr, both meaning "bat… The correct English form is gun, spelled G-U-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot.
  2. 2
    A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot.
  3. 3
    A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot.
  4. 4
    A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot.
  5. 5
    A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot.
  6. 6
    A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot.
  7. 7
    A device operated by a trigger and acting in a manner similar to a firearm.
  8. 8
    A device operated by a trigger and acting in a manner similar to a firearm.
  9. 9
    A device operated by a trigger and acting in a manner similar to a firearm.
  10. 10
    A long surfboard designed for surfing big waves (not the same as a longboard, a gun has a pointed nose and is generally a little narrower).
  11. 11
    A pattern that "fires" out other patterns.
  12. 12
    A person who carries or uses a gun (rifle, shotgun or handgun), particularly with reference to how quickly the person can draw and fire the gun.
  13. 13
    An electron gun.
  14. 14
    The biceps.
  15. 15
    Violent blasts of wind.
  16. 16
    Someone excellent, surpassingly wonderful, skilful, or cool.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how gun appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect.
  2. Well, I've always been progun, you know that. It's... yeah, I think adding more guns into a situation is obviously the way to prevent shooting. I think in a way, if we take the guns away, the shootings may escalate. And I think that's why he's so firm on literally arming everyone. I think if you don't have a gun in your hands... well, let's not find out w…

Etymology

From Middle English gunne, gonne, possibly from Gunnhild, a female given name formerly used as a nickname for engines of war (compare Nordic Gunn, a female name meaning “battle”). The name is composed of the Norse elements gunnr and hildr, both meaning "battle".

This word in other languages

pistola(Español)flingue(Français)Pistole(Deutsch)pistola(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gun"?
"gun" is spelled G-U-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡʌn/.
What does "gun" mean?
As a noun, "gun" means: A device for shooting projectiles or ditto (a shooter), functioning through stored energy: a firearm, cannon, harpoon gun/spear gun, raygun, etc, not a bow and arrow, or slingshot.
What words are commonly confused with "gun"?
"gun" is commonly confused with "guy", "gym", "gut". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gun"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gun" is /ˈɡʌn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "gun"?
From Middle English gunne, gonne, possibly from Gunnhild, a female given name formerly used as a nickname for engines of war (compare Nordic Gunn, a female name meaning “battle”). The name is composed of the Norse elements gunnr and hildr, both me... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gun", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wow#1,178dad#1,182sun#1,154fit#1,185

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list