Outgunned

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Being in a position where one has inferior armament compared to another party
2. Facing a scenario where the available weapons or capabilities are significantly lesser than those of an adversary
3. Having fewer or weaker weapons than the opposing side in a conflict

Etymology: "Outgunned" is simply the past participle of "outgun," a verb formed by attaching the prefix "out-" to "gun." The prefix means "beyond" or "surpassing," so to outgun someone is to surpass them in firepower. The prefix is an old English word meaning "out, outside, beyond," traceable back to the same Proto-Germanic root as its modern form, and it has been used this way to form many verbs like "outrun," "outdo," and "outlast." "Gun" has a more surprising history. It is a shortened form of the Middle English name "Gunnilda" or "Gunhild," a feminine personal name, which was a nickname for a woman named Gunnhild. Medieval English speakers applied the name to the war engine, borrowing it from the common practice of calling powerful things by a woman's name. The origin of that name lies in the Old Norse elements "gunnr," meaning "war," and "hildr," meaning "battle," so the weapon is named, in a roundabout way, after a Norse word for battle.

Synonyms: overpowered, outmatched, outnumbered, overwhelmed, outmaneuvered