What does "cannon" mean?
A complete assembly, consisting of an artillery tube and a breech mechanism, firing mechanism or base cap, which is a component of a gun, howitzer or mortar, which may include muzzle appendages.
Cannon
/ˈkæn.ən/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A complete assembly, consisting of an artillery tube and a breech mechanism, firing mechanism or base cap, which is a component of a gun, howitzer or mortar, which may include muzzle appendages.
- Grammar: cannon is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: aim at, appulse, artillery, artillery.
- Useful contrasts: refrain, withhold.
- Usage evidence: The cannon went off by accident.
How to use "cannon"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cannon" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cannon" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cannon" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cannon" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cannon" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "aim at" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cannon", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A complete assembly, consisting of an artillery tube and a breech mechanism, firing mechanism or base cap, which is a component of a gun, howitzer or mortar, which may include muzzle appendages. countable, uncountable
"Holonyms: gun, field gun; howitzer; mortar"
- 2 Misspelling of canon. alt-of, misspelling, slang
- 3 a shot in billiards in which the cue ball contacts one object ball and then the other wordnet
- 4 Any similar device for shooting material out of a tube. countable, uncountable
"water cannon; glitter cannon; confetti cannon; potato cannon"
- 5 lower part of the leg extending from the hock to the fetlock in hoofed mammals wordnet
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 Any similar device for shooting material out of a tube.; An autocannon. countable, uncountable
- 7 a large artillery gun that is usually on wheels wordnet
- 8 A bone of a horse’s leg, between the fetlock joint and the knee or hock. countable, uncountable
- 9 heavy automatic gun fired from an airplane wordnet
- 10 A rolled and filleted loin of meat. countable, uncountable
"a canon of beef or lamb"
- 11 (Middle Ages) a cylindrical piece of armor plate to protect the arm wordnet
- 12 A cannon bit. countable, uncountable
- 13 heavy gun fired from a tank wordnet
- 14 A large muzzle-loading artillery piece. countable, historical, uncountable
"Near-synonym: gun (often synonymous)"
- 15 A carom. countable, uncountable
"In English billiards, a cannon is when one’s cue ball strikes the other player’s cue ball and the red ball on the same shot; and it is worth two points."
- 16 The arm of a player who can throw well. countable, figuratively, informal, uncountable
"He’s got a cannon out in right."
- 17 A hollow cylindrical piece carried by a revolving shaft, on which it may, however, revolve independently. countable, uncountable
- 18 A cylindrical item of plate armor protecting the arm, particularly one of a pair of such cylinders worn with a couter, the upper cannon protecting the upper arm and the lower cannon protecting the forearm. countable, historical, uncountable
"The pauldrons are rather weak, but the cannons of the vambraces are good and come from an Italian armour of considerably earlier date, for they have the tulip form of the first half of the century."
- 19 Alternative form of canon (“a large size of type”). alt-of, alternative, uncountable
- 20 A piece which moves horizontally and vertically like a rook but captures another piece by jumping over a different piece in the line of attack. countable, uncountable
- 21 A pickpocket. US, countable, slang, uncountable
"I also learned never to conspicuoulsy^([sic]) watch a cannon while he was working. Pickpockets dislike being watched, even by those who may be "right," because they become uneasy and clumsy and feel conspicuous."
Verb
- 1 To bombard with cannons.
- 2 fire a cannon wordnet
- 3 To play the carom billiard shot; to strike two balls with the cue ball.
"The white cannoned off the red onto the pink."
- 4 make a cannon wordnet
- 5 To fire something, especially spherical, rapidly.
"Montenegro had hardly threatened in the second period but served notice they were still potent as Nikola Vukcevic took a smart pass from Jovetic and cannoned a shot off Hennessey's shins."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To collide or strike violently, especially so as to glance off or rebound.
"[…] he heard the right-hand goal post crack as a pony cannoned into it—crack, splinter, and fall like a mast."
Adjective
- 1 Misspelling of canon. alt-of, misspelling, slang
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
"The hearing in front of Judge Aileen M. Cannon at a federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Fla., could touch on other issues, including the scheduling of the trial."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The cannon went off by accident."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cannon"?
Common synonyms include: aim at, appulse, artillery, artillery, artillery piece, backfire.
How do you use "cannon" in a sentence?
The cannon went off by accident.
How do you pronounce "cannon"?
Pronounced /ˈkæn.ən/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Attested from around 1400 as Middle English canon, canoun, from Old French canon, from Italian cannone, from Latin canna, from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of canyon. This spelling was not fixed until about 1800.
Etymology 2
* As an Irish surname, Anglicized from Ó Canann, Ó Canáin (“descendant of Cano, Canán”), the name being from cano (“wolf cub”). Comparable to McCann, McConnon, Connon. * As an English surname, from the noun canon. * As a French surname, variant of Canon.