How to Use bolt-action in a Sentence

bolt-action

adjective
  • The gun is a bolt-action rifle, which requires users to manually reload between shots.
    — Andrew Blankstein, NBC news, 20 Sep. 2025
  • Here's a look at how bolt-action rifles work and their legality in Indiana.
    — Katie Wiseman, IndyStar, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The shooter fired a bolt-action rifle from a nearby rooftop before fleeing into a neighborhood.
    — Richard Ruelas, AZCentral.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The gun, an 8mm bolt-action rifle, was obtained legally by the suspect in August, Rothrock said.
    — Amanda Musa, CNN Money, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Sajid Akram legally owned six guns, including the two shotguns and two bolt-action rifles used at Bondi.
    — CNN Money, 21 Dec. 2025
  • Rothrock described the gun used in the attack as an 8mm bolt-action rifle that Jahn legally purchased in August.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Most bolt-action firearms are rifles, but there are also shotguns and handguns that operate similarly.
    — Nick Mordowanec jason Lemon, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Investigators later discovered a bolt-action rifle wrapped in a towel.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Unlike semiautomatic firearms, bolt-action rifles require manual cycling between shots, limiting the rate of fire to one round at a time.
    — Amanda Castro joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Recovered evidence includes a bolt-action rifle and forensic impressions lifted from the rooftop, including palm and forearm imprints and footwear marks.
    — Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025
  • The gunman used a bolt-action rifle, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
    — Jamie Stengle, Twin Cities, 24 Sep. 2025
  • The switchgear has been reengineered with horological precision, from luminous-infill toggles that capture daylight and glow softly at night to a parking brake lever that feels like a bolt-action rifle.
    — New Atlas, 19 Aug. 2025
  • Robinson’s father also recognized the weapon from news coverage as the same bolt-action rifle his son had inherited from his grandfather, according to court filings.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Authorities had said the gun used to assassinate Kirk was a Mauser 98, a common bolt-action rifle typically used for hunting.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
  • The gun authorities say was used to assassinate Charlie Kirk was a Mauser 98, a common bolt-action rifle typically used for hunting.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Prosecutors allege Robinson shot Kirk in the neck with a bolt-action rifle from the roof of a nearby building on the campus in Orem, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City.
    — Jesse Bedayn, Twin Cities, 16 Sep. 2025
  • The killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, used a Carcano model 38, a bolt-action rifle originally designed in the late 19th century for the Italian military.
    — Andrew Blankstein, NBC news, 20 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bolt-action.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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