M16
noun
: a .223 caliber (5.56 millimeter) gas-operated magazine-fed rifle for semiautomatic or automatic operation used by U.S. troops since the mid 1960s
Examples of M16 in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The judge recalled firing an M16 at targets of human silhouettes.
—
Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
The four settlers were in a clearing; one had an M16 and was walking along the edge of the terraced grove of olive trees.
—Shane Bauer, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
Israeli settlers, drawn to another shepherd’s flock grazing in the valley 200 yards below, fired what appeared to be M16 rifles in the air and toward the shepherd.
—Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Jan. 2024
Think how much worse this tragedy would have turned out without a functioning press: By 1967, American soldiers in Vietnam had been struggling for years with M16 rifles that jammed constantly and were utterly unreliable in combat.
—Sebastian Junger, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024
According to Hassan and local media reports, the masked settlers were firing mostly pistols and one M16, a popular military rifle.
—Shakked Auerbach, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2024
The inquest, however, did not find any proof to Mohamed’s claims that their killings were orchestrated by Britain’s M16 and ordered by Prince Philip — and Mohamed accepted that outcome.
—Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 14 Nov. 2023
Black powder isn’t used in 5.56 ammunition for M16 rifles.
—wsj.com, 5 May 2023
Already, Kyiv has deployed soldiers from the 47th Mechanized Brigade, one of nine units formed in October specifically to recapture occupied land and armed with M16 rifles instead of the Kalashnikovs that most Ukrainian soldiers use.
—Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 10 June 2023
Rachel Weiner, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
The four settlers were in a clearing; one had an M16 and was walking along the edge of the terraced grove of olive trees.
—Shane Bauer, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024
Israeli settlers, drawn to another shepherd’s flock grazing in the valley 200 yards below, fired what appeared to be M16 rifles in the air and toward the shepherd.
—Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Jan. 2024
Think how much worse this tragedy would have turned out without a functioning press: By 1967, American soldiers in Vietnam had been struggling for years with M16 rifles that jammed constantly and were utterly unreliable in combat.
—Sebastian Junger, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024
According to Hassan and local media reports, the masked settlers were firing mostly pistols and one M16, a popular military rifle.
—Shakked Auerbach, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2024
The inquest, however, did not find any proof to Mohamed’s claims that their killings were orchestrated by Britain’s M16 and ordered by Prince Philip — and Mohamed accepted that outcome.
—Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 14 Nov. 2023
Black powder isn’t used in 5.56 ammunition for M16 rifles.
—wsj.com, 5 May 2023
Already, Kyiv has deployed soldiers from the 47th Mechanized Brigade, one of nine units formed in October specifically to recapture occupied land and armed with M16 rifles instead of the Kalashnikovs that most Ukrainian soldiers use.
—Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 10 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'M16.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
model 16
First Known Use
1968, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near M16
Cite this Entry
“M16.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/M16. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
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