bump stock

noun

plural bump stocks
: a replacement stock for a semiautomatic rifle that enables it to fire much more rapidly
A bump stock lets a gun's stock, which rests against the shoulder, slide backward and forward, letting users take advantage of the gun's recoil to fire rapidly.International Business Times
The Supreme Court has previously declined on at least three occasions to review the legality of a bump stock ban …Alex Swoyer

Examples of bump stock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But rifles outfitted with bump stocks were involved in other mass shootings, most notably a 2017 shooting in Las Vegas. CBS News, 5 Jan. 2026 In 2018, the state legislature passed a law that outlawed the possession and sale of bump stocks, along with trigger cranks and devices that make the gun operate like an automatic weapon. Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 23 Apr. 2026 Since then, the Supreme Court has overturned a ban on rapid-fire gun accessories called bump stocks but upheld a law barring people under domestic-violence restraining orders from having guns and regulations on nearly untraceable ghost guns. Lindsay Whitehurst, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2025 Not allowing retailers to sell bump stocks was also included in the bank’s 2018 policy, after the device was used during a mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017. Callum Sutherland, Time, 4 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for bump stock

Word History

First Known Use

2010, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bump stock was in 2010

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Cite this Entry

“Bump stock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bump%20stock. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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