CALIBER • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Caliber

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/kˈæləbər/ Listen

noun

Calibre, Caliber n.

(Gunnery) The diameter of the bore, as a cannon or other firearm, or of any tube; or the weight or size of the projectile which a firearm will carry; as, an 8 inch gun, a 12-pounder, a 44 caliber. "The caliber of empty tubes." "A battery composed of three guns of small caliber." Note: The caliber of firearms is expressed in various ways. Cannon are often designated by the weight of a solid spherical shot that will fit the bore; as, a 12-pounder; pieces of ordnance that project shell or hollow shot are designated by the diameter of their bore; as, a 12 inch mortar or a 14 inch shell gun; small arms are designated by hundredths of an inch expressed decimally; as, a rifle of.44 inch caliber.

The diameter of round or cylindrical body, as of a bullet or column.

Fig.: Capacity or compass of mind.

Caliber compasses. See Calipers.

Caliber rule, a gunner's calipers, an instrument having two scales arranged to determine a ball's weight from its diameter, and conversely.

A ship's caliber, the weight of her armament.

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Etymology of 'Caliber'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Caliber" Quotes from Famous Books

... of war, I tell you, colonel; you're free to use your troops in a state of war, ain't you? Twenty-five troopers, with a little small cannon"—Chadron made illustration of the caliber that he considered adequate for the business with his hands—"to knock 'em out of their ditches so we could pick 'em off as they scatter, would be enough; we ...

— The Rustler of Wind River • G. W. Ogden

... strangers who make cold camps in the San Gregorio. At daylight this morning I rode down the wash and searched for his camp. I found where he had slept in the grass—also this," and he drew from his pocket a single rifle cartridge. "Thirty-two-forty caliber, Miguel," he continued, "with a soft-nose bullet. I do not know of one in this county who shoots such a heavy rifle. In the old days we used the .44 caliber, but nowadays, we prefer nothing heavier than a .30 and many use a .35 ...

— The Pride of Palomar • Peter B. Kyne

... however, their appearance was greeted by a storm of shot and shell. Guns of all caliber belched their deadly missiles at the charging French. The attackers quickened their pace and breaking into a run, raced ...

— Fighting in France • Ross Kay

... woman who, being mistaken for a burglar, was shot by her husband with a 44-caliber bullet. The missile entered the second and third ribs an inch from the sternum, passed through the right lung, and escaped at the inferior angle of the scapula, about three inches below the spine; after leaving her body it went through a pine door. She suffered much hemorrhage ...

— Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine • George M. Gould

... it—nobody would. I see there was a hen on, I knew the lay of the ground from looking after my horse. So I clomped off to bed, got my good old Excalibur gun—full name X.L.V. Caliber—slipped off my boots, tippytoed down the back stairs like a Barred Rock cat, oozed in by the side door—and here I be! I overheard their pleasant little plan to do you. I meant to do the big rescue act, ...

— The Desire of the Moth; and The Come On • Eugene Manlove Rhodes

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