trigger

Definition

A finger-operated lever used to fire a gun.

Etymology

Originally tricker, from Dutch trekker (“pull”, noun, as in drawer-pull, bell-pull), from Dutch trekken (“to drag, draw, pull”).

Example Sentences

• "Just pull the trigger."
• "[W]e pull'd aſide the Tricker, and obſerv'd, that according to our expectation the force of the Spring of the Lock vvas not ſenſibly abated by the abſence of the Air."
• "Sleeping in an unfamiliar room can be a trigger for sleepwalking."

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