hired gun

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Definition
  1. Noun:
    • A professional killer who uses a gun: A person who is paid money to murder someone, typically using a firearm as their weapon.
Usage
  • The term "hired gun" is used to describe a professional assassin or mercenary who kills for money. It is a metaphorical and informal term, comparing the killer to a tool (a gun) that is rented or hired to perform a specific, violent task. It often implies a cold, detached, and purely financial motivation for the act of killing.
Examples
  • Noun:
    • The crime boss used a hired gun to eliminate his rival.
    • In the movie, the protagonist is a former hired gun trying to escape his violent past.
Advanced Usage
  • Metaphorical Extension: In broader, non-literal contexts, "hired gun" can sometimes refer to any professional (like a lawyer, consultant, or expert) who is paid to aggressively advocate for a client's interests, especially in a contentious situation. However, this usage is derived from the core meaning and retains the connotations of being brought in from outside for a specific, often aggressive, paid task.
    • The company brought in a hired gun from a prestigious law firm to handle the lawsuit.
Variants and Related Words
  • Gun for hire: A phrase with identical meaning to "hired gun."
  • Hitman: A very close synonym for a professional murderer.
  • Assassin: A person who murders an important person for political or monetary reasons.
  • Mercenary: A professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army, which shares the "paid fighter" concept but in a military context.
Synonyms
  • Assassin
  • Hitman
  • Contract killer
  • Trigger man (specifically the one who pulls the trigger)
Related Phrases
  • To hire a gun: The verbal phrase meaning to employ the services of a professional killer.
    • They were accused of hiring a gun to settle the dispute.
Noun
  1. a professional killer who uses a gun