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Meaning of hired gun | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B2

Definitions

  1. A person who is employed as an armed guard, enforcer, or mercenary and who is prepared to use gunplay or similar violent methods in order to assert the interests of their employer.
  2. A person who is employed to advance the interests of their employer, especially in a vigorous manner using such methods as political lobbying, legal advocacy, or persuasion.
    broadly, idiomatic

Examples

“The hired guns, who protect diplomats, dignitaries and businesspeople, tear through the streets of the capital in convoys of armored SUVs.”
“[O]ne of Gore's senior advisers, top-tier lobbyist Peter Knight, is a hired gun for pharmaceuticals giant Schering-Plough.”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.

See also

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