Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A 5.56 mm-caliber, gas-operated, clip-fed assault rifle, first used by US troops during the Vietnam War.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun US A lightweight assault rifle, originating from the Vietnam War period

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[M, military classification.]

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Examples

  • The air force had snubbed its sister service and adopted the AR-15, which was now called the M-16.

    The Gun C. J. Chivers 2010

  • In July, the commandant of the Marine Corps, General Greene, repeated General Walt’s position, calling the M-16 “ideally suited” for the jungle warfare of Vietnam.

    The Gun C. J. Chivers 2010

  • The first phrase is an adaptation of the popular formulation that runs along the lines of "The AR-15 is the civillian (sometimes it might even read semiautomatic) version of the military's M-16 rifle."

    Semi-automatic sub-machine guns 2009

  • (See my stance on the way people refer to the M-16 below.)

    Semi-automatic sub-machine guns 2009

  • (See my stance on the way people refer to the M-16 below.)

    Semi-automatic sub-machine guns 2009

  • On the M-16: Lots of people say that there's no such thing as an assault weapon.

    Semi-automatic sub-machine guns 2009

  • It is a policy dreamed up by former Scoop Jackson dems who believed the supremacy of America entitled it to dictate to other nations via the muzzle of an M-16.

    Matthew Yglesias » The New Federalism 2009

  • Actually the M-16 (aside from its obvious combat duties) was designed to replace the 7.62 X 51mm M-14 and offer the individual combat infantryman a lighter weapon and the ability to carry more ammunition with less weight.

    Semi-automatic sub-machine guns 2009

  • Willy crawled out of the cab, gun out, saw an M-16 in the leafchewed mud.

    Babies Terence Cannon 2011

  • The first phrase is an adaptation of the popular formulation that runs along the lines of "The AR-15 is the civillian (sometimes it might even read semiautomatic) version of the military's M-16 rifle."

    Semi-automatic sub-machine guns 2009

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