portable firearms of relatively small calibre
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
ˈsmall ˈarm, n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- Militarya gun or other firearm designed to be held in one or both hands while being fired.
small′ arm′,
small′-armed′, adj.
- MilitaryUsually, small arms. a firearm designed to be held in one or both hands while being fired: in the U.S. the term is applied to weapons of a caliber of up to one in. (2.5 cm).
- 1680–90
'small arms' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
armorer
- armourer
- arms
- artillery
- bullet
- cartridge
- dumdum
- firearm
- groundfire
- infantry
- machine-gun
- manual
- musketry
- percussion cap
- quick fire
- rapid fire
- sear
- shell
- slow fire
- small arm
- spotter
- tracer bullet