Definition

Noun: 1. A firearm designed to disperse rioters rather than to inflict serious injury or death: A riot gun is a type of weapon, typically a shotgun or a launcher, used by law enforcement or military personnel to control crowds. It fires less-lethal ammunition intended to incapacitate, deter, or disperse individuals without causing fatal wounds.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The police officer carried a riot gun loaded with rubber bullets.
  • Authorities deployed tear gas from a riot gun to break up the protest.
  • The use of the riot gun was intended to restore order without lethal force.

Advanced Usage

• "deploy a riot gun": To bring into use or position for crowd control.
  • The unit was authorized to deploy riot guns if the crowd became violent.
• "load a riot gun with [ammunition type]": To prepare the weapon with specific non-lethal rounds.
  • They loaded the riot gun with bean bag rounds.

Variants and Related Words

• Less-lethal weapon (n): A broader category of weapons designed to subdue without causing death, which includes riot guns.
• Crowd control weapon (n): A general term for devices, including riot guns, used to manage large groups of people.

Synonyms

• Non-lethal launcher: Emphasizes the weapon's purpose of firing projectiles not meant to kill.
• Crowd dispersal gun: Describes the primary function of the weapon.

Related Phrases

• Riot control: The overall practice of managing and dispersing unruly crowds, for which a riot gun is a tool.
• Less-lethal ammunition: The specific projectiles (e.g., rubber bullets, bean bags, tear gas canisters) fired from a riot gun.

Noun

1. a firearm designed to disperse rioters rather than to inflict serious injury or death