How to Use pistol-whip in a Sentence

pistol-whip

verb
  • Police said they were bound, beaten and pistol-whipped.
    Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2025
  • The assault ended when Davis drew a firearm and pistol-whipped the teen.
    Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2026
  • The assault ended when Davis drew a firearm and pistol-whipped the teen.
    Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 6 May 2026
  • Staffers at the store said the victim was an employee, and was pistol-whipped.
    Lou Kleinberg, CBS News, 22 Dec. 2025
  • In one case, a victim was allegedly robbed and pistol-whipped.
    Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026
  • The victim was run off the road, beaten, pistol-whipped and shot multiple times.
    Sean Emery, Orange County Register, 28 Oct. 2024
  • The other men tried to stop the fight, but Moua took out a gun and tried to pistol-whip Yang in the face.
    Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 22 Apr. 2025
  • But the man showed a reporter the lacerations and described how men pistol-whipped and beat him.
    Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2023
  • He himself had once been addicted to heroin, slept at bus stops and been pistol-whipped by drug dealers.
    Jessica Gallagher, New York Times, 3 June 2024
  • Mathis was pistol-whipped and then forced inside a bathroom with his wife and a neighbor while the thieves ransacked the home and set part of it alight.
    Greg Moran, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2023
  • One man was shot to death and another pistol-whipped by a crew of crooks on a Bronx street, police said Monday.
    Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 16 Dec. 2024
  • What a waste for the other defendants, and for the victims, who allegedly were held at gunpoint and pistol-whipped.
    Bob Wojnowski, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 June 2026
  • Video also shows the brothers pistol-whipping Reyes-Jungwirth, the charges say.
    Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Lauzurique-Gonzalez then pistol-whipped the brother-in-law after shooting him.
    Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 14 May 2026
  • Months later, a man was pistol-whipped by two assailants while meeting up with a woman in a first-floor room, authorities said.
    Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 25 June 2026
  • Prosecutors said that about two weeks before the shooting Simpkins was robbed and pistol-whipped at a gas station.
    Allie Kelly, Dallas News, 24 July 2023
  • In that incident, he was accused of pistol-whipping a female employee at the box store and taking her wallet and keys.
    Peter D'abrosca , Adam Sabes , Patrick McGovern, FOXNews.com, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Authorities said he pistol-whipped and punched a man and ordered an associate to shoot and kill the man and another person.
    Michael Casey, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2025
  • The suspect, believed to be a 19-year-old male, was also jumped by 10 people where he was punched, kicked, and pistol-whipped.
    Patrick Damp, CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026
  • In that incident, he is accused of pistol-whipping a female employee before making off with her keys and wallet.
    Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 2 June 2026
  • The assault ended when Davis drew a firearm and pistol-whipped the teen, causing his weapon to fire and Pierre to collapse with a gunshot wound to the chest.
    Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
  • In May, 58-year-old Hernaza Jenkins, was pistol-whipped and fatally shot in the same block.
    Isabella Volmert, Dallas News, 16 Apr. 2023
  • Aurora officials said two apartment residents were taken against their will to a vacant unit and were bound, pistol-whipped, threatened and tortured for hours.
    Jessica Seaman, The Denver Post, 5 Feb. 2025
  • Mason is accused of pointing a handgun and pistol-whipping a man multiple times in the front yard of the victim's home on Carroll Street.
    Jennifer Borrasso, CBS News, 23 June 2026
  • Until the end of 2020, for upward of a year, Joseph stopped paying her, beat her, held her at gunpoint and pistol-whipped her, the lawsuit states.
    Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 21 May 2026
  • One of the two younger teens, a 16-year-old boy, admitted to bringing the gun to the park and pistol-whipping Angel with it, prosecutors said.
    Sheetal Banchariya, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Police said the victim was assaulted and pistol-whipped while delivering a package on Parkview Avenue.
    Mamie Bah, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Donning masks and pistols, the suspects kicked in the door of the outside residence, pistol-whipped and bound the man living there before robbing him of cash and other items, the documents say.
    Harry Harris, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2024
  • The suspects, who were not immediately identified by police, used guns and knives to pistol-whip, threaten and rob people and flee with their possessions, police said.
    Michael Cabanatuan, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Mar. 2023
  • During the trial, the victim testified that Newton pointed a gun at the victim’s head and threatened her with it instead of attempting to pistol-whip her.
    City News Service, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pistol-whip.' 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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