carbine

Definition

A rifle with a short barrel.

Etymology

Ca. 1600, from French carabine. Doublet of carabine.

Example Sentences

• ""Caught at last, and by those rascally Roundheads, whom you call patriots and saints, in a few minutes more I shall be shot—that is, if their clumsy carbines take good aim—to be sure they can fire near enough their mark not to miss..."
• "The lock-up was upstairs, a cage surrounded by six-inch wooden bars, guarded by a constable armed with a carbine."
• "Inside the wall they found "a small cannon aimed at the entrance of the gate, and all along the street soldiers were stationed and a few on horseback were riding up and down. One of these had his carbine strapped on his back, and swung under his arm was a three-foot beheading sword wrapped in red cloth. That section had been terrorized by robbers, and they were prepared.""