A gun is a mechanical device that fires projectiles at high velocity, using a propellant such as gun powder or compressed air.

The term gun is often used as a synonym to firearm, but in its more technical usage refers only to artillery that fires projectiles at a high velocity along a flat trajectory, such as field guns, tank guns and anti-tank guns, and naval guns. Howitzers, mortars, and all hand-held firearms are excluded from this definition. The exception to this is the shotgun, which is hand-held, has a smooth bore and fires a Cartridge (firearms) of pellets.

The word gun is also applied to some more or less vaguely gun-like tools, glue gun for example.

=Related topics=

==Types of weapons==

==Gunnery theory==

Gunnery is the science and art of constructing, managing and firing of guns.

*Ballistics *Electrothermal-chemical technology *Firearm action *Optics *Physics of firearms *Terminal ballistics *Stopping Power

==Politics and society==

*Gun culture *Gun law *Gun politics *Gun safety *Non-violence

==Lists==

*List of aircraft weapons *List of common WWII weapons *List of crew served weapons of the US Armed Forces *List of firearms *List of individual weapons of the US Armed Forces *List of modern armament manufacturers *List of prototype WWII weapons *List of secondary and special issue WWII weapons *List of submachine guns *Lists of weapons in video games *Military technology and equipment

=See also=