caliber
noun
Simple meaning
Diameter of the bore of a firearm, usually measured between opposite lands.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kaluhberSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkæləbɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Diameter of the bore of a firearm, typically measured between opposite lands.
The diameter of round or cylindrical body, as of a bullet, a projectile, or a column.
A nominal name for a cartridge type, which may not exactly indicate its true size and may include other measurements such as cartridge length or black powder capacity. Eg 7.62×39 or 38.40.
figuratively
Capacity or compass of mind.
figuratively
Relative size, importance, magnitude.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Diameter of the bore of a firearm, typically measured between opposite lands.
Used this way, caliber is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: diameter of the bore of a firearm
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.