Definition

Noun: 1. A professional killer who uses a gun: A person, typically a criminal, who is hired to murder someone, with the defining characteristic being the use of a firearm to carry out the killing. This term often implies the individual is part of organized crime or a hired assassin.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The police believe the shooting was carried out by a professional triggerman.
  • The mob boss ordered his triggerman to eliminate the rival.
  • He was identified as the triggerman in the high-profile assassination.

Advanced Usage

• "The triggerman for": This phrase specifies the person or organization the assassin works for.
  • He was known to be the triggerman for the city's most powerful crime family.

Variants and Related Words

• Trigger (verb/noun): The lever on a gun that is pulled to fire it; to cause something to happen. This is the root word from which "triggerman" is derived.
  • He pulled the trigger. The new law could trigger a series of protests.
• Hitman (noun): A very close synonym for triggerman, also meaning a professional killer for hire.
• Gunman (noun): A more general term for a man who uses a gun, especially during a crime; it does not necessarily imply he is a hired professional killer.

Synonyms

• Assassin: A person who murders an important person for political or monetary reasons.
• Hitman: A person who is paid to kill someone.
• Gunner (in this specific criminal context): A person who uses a gun to commit violent acts.

Related Phrases

• To pull the trigger: Literally, to fire a gun; figuratively, to make the final decision to start something significant.
  • The CEO finally pulled the trigger on the merger deal.

Noun

1. a professional killer who uses a gun