Antonyms for muzzle


Grammar : Noun, verb
Spell : muhz-uhl
Phonetic Transcription : ˈmʌz əl


Definition of muzzle

Origin :
  • late 14c., "device put over an animal's mouth to stop it from biting, eating, or rooting," from Old French musel "muzzle," also "snout, nose" (12c., Modern French museau), from muse "muzzle," from Gallo-Romance *musa "snout" (cf. Provençal mus, Old Spanish mus, Italian muso), of unknown origin, possibly related to Latin morsus "bite" (but OED finds "serious difficulties" with this). Meaning "projecting part of the head of an animal" is from early 15c. in English; sense of "open end of a firearm" first recorded 1560s.
  • noun covering for control
  • verb gag, quiet
Example sentences :
  • He whirled to receive the muzzle of a revolver in his stomach.
  • Extract from : « Way of the Lawless » by Max Brand
  • And Yates, taking the weapon by the muzzle, tossed it as far as he could into the field.
  • Extract from : « In the Midst of Alarms » by Robert Barr
  • Five of our ships were engaged muzzle to muzzle with five of the French.
  • Extract from : « The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson » by Robert Southey
  • Suddenly he dropped the muzzle of the pistol and, pale as a sheet, turned to his second.
  • Extract from : « A Hero of Our Time » by M. Y. Lermontov
  • The gun was loaded, and filled nearly to the muzzle with slugs.
  • Extract from : « Homeward Bound » by James Fenimore Cooper
  • Also, a ferret's muzzle, and a twist of tarry string, still faintly aromatic.
  • Extract from : « The Golden Age » by Kenneth Grahame
  • Balta said, and Murray felt the muzzle of the neuro-pistol on his spinal column.
  • Extract from : « The Martian Cabal » by Roman Frederick Starzl
  • "It's you, Oscar," observes this Miss Bark, shiftin' the muzzle to him.
  • Extract from : « Faro Nell and Her Friends » by Alfred Henry Lewis
  • You don't carry a rifle with the muzzle pointing towards your left ear.
  • Extract from : « Audrey Craven » by May Sinclair
  • He walked up to the gun and peered into its muzzle with one eye.
  • Extract from : « Philo Gubb Correspondence-School Detective » by Ellis Parker Butler

Synonyms for muzzle

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019