Breech
[briːtʃ] or [britʃ]
Definition
(noun.) opening in the rear of the barrel of a gun where bullets can be loaded.
Checker: Steve--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The lower part of the body behind; the buttocks.
(n.) Breeches.
(n.) The hinder part of anything; esp., the part of a cannon, or other firearm, behind the chamber.
(n.) The external angle of knee timber, the inside of which is called the throat.
(v. t.) To put into, or clothe with, breeches.
(v. t.) To cover as with breeches.
(v. t.) To fit or furnish with a breech; as, to breech a gun.
(v. t.) To whip on the breech.
(v. t.) To fasten with breeching.
Typist: Wilhelmina
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Hinder part, after part.
Checked by Freda
Definition
n. the lower part of the body behind: the hinder part of anything esp. of a gun.—v.t. to put into breeches: to flog.—adj. Breeched.—n.pl. Breeches (brich′ez) a garment worn by men on the lower limbs of the body strictly as distinguished from trousers coming just below the knee but often used generally for trousers—(Knee-breeches see under Knee).—n. Breech′ing a part of a horse's harness attached to the saddle which comes round the breech and is hooked to the shafts: a strong rope attached to the breech of a gun to secure it to a ship's side.—adj. (Shak.) subject to whipping.—n. Breech′-load′er a firearm loaded by introducing the charge at the breech instead of the muzzle.—Breeches Bible a name often given to the Geneva Bible produced by the English Protestant exiles in 1560 so named from the rendering 'breeches' in Gen. iii. 7; Breeches part (theat.) a part in which a girl wears men's clothes.—To wear the breeches (said of a wife) to usurp the authority of the husband: to be master.
Editor: Myra
Examples
- Among the earliest fire-arms of this period one was invented which was a breech-loader and revolver. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Spain had 10,000 muskets to modernize by the same system, and the breech-block attachments were made at Ilion. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- A breech-loading rifle was also invented about this time. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- A form of breech-loading cannon was introduced in the sixteenth century, but the advantageous use of this device is of late invention. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The annexed woodcuts show the figure of this Revolver, with the working parts round the lock exposed to view, together with the shape of the revolving chambered breech. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- It was this weapon which in the Civil War gave proof of the deadly efficacy of the breech-loading magazine gun, and its superiority to the old style military arm. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- He devised the famous system of a dropping breech block, backed up by the hammer. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Why, the breeches-maker, said Bob Manners, speaking very slow. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Set a bulldog on hind legs, and dress him up in coat and breeches, and yo'n just getten John Thornton. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- But, as princes seldom get their meat hot, my legs were not scalded, only my stockings and breeches in a sad condition. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- I drew off my shoes, stockings, and breeches. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- At the age of six he had asked a Scripture riddle: Who was the first man known to wear breeches? Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Lord Frederick wants your opinion on his new leather breeches. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- I stood up, took off the breeches and pulled off the knee-brace. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
Editor: Marilyn