full boren.adj.adv.
/ˌfʊl ˈbɔː/, U.S. /ˌfʊl ˈbɔr/ A. n.
1. Firearms. Originally: †a bullet, charge, etc., that occupies the full diameter of a gun barrel; the size of a bullet, charge, etc., for a weapon of relatively large calibre (obsolete). In later use: a weapon of relatively large calibre (see sense B. 1). rare.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [noun] > type of firearm > others
full bore1622
spingard1671
ordered armsa1689
double-barrel1811
smooth-bore1812
stern-chaser1835
shunt1864
shunt (rifled) gun1864
sidelocka1865
firer1885
slide action1921
Mike-Mike1969
multicalibre1986
1622 F. Markham Five Decades Epist. of Warre i. ix. 35 You must haue regard that the barrell be smooth, euen, and not galled within, that it carry the full bore equally cleane throughout.
1635 Early Laws Mass. 4 Mar. in N. B. Shurtleff Rec. Mass. Bay (1853) I. 137 It is likewise ordered, that muskett bulletts, of a full boare, shall passe currantly for a farthing a peece.
2004 Shooting Sports Oct. 24/1 There are a number of optional barrels for it, which will turn what is a Rimfire into a full bore in about five minutes.
2. As much as a pipe, tube, or similar container holds when full; a quantity that fills a particular pipe, tube, etc.; the maximum flow emitted from a pipe, tube, etc. Cf. sense B. 2.Chiefly with reference to pumped water.
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c1699 T. Savery in Sci. Monthly (1936) Sept. 272/2 My engine at 60, 70, or 80 feet, raises a full bore of water with much ease.
1737 M. Clare Motion of Fluids (ed. 2) 71 They..commonly bring up a full Bore of Water in the Pump.
1804 Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. 6 i. 107 So that on opening the cock, the fluid may run into the nozzle with sufficient rapidity to fill its full bore.
1861 J. Joyce Sci. Dialogues (new ed.) 213 They bring up a full bore of water in the pump.
1971 Science 19 Feb. 634 (advt.) The 7670A automatic sampler..washes the syringe by aspirating a full bore of new sample 5 or 11 times as desired.
2002 G. D. Taylor Materials in Constr. (new ed.) viii. 421 It may result in the emission of a full bore of water on complete failure of a joint.
B. adj. Usually in form full-bore.
1. Firearms. Designating a firearm of relatively large calibre, esp. one larger than a weapon of .22 inch calibre or 5.6 mm bore. Also: relating to or involving such a weapon.In modern use, originally distinguishing the full-sized military or service rifle from the ‘miniature’ or small-bore firearms used (often indoors) for training or target practice (cf. small-bore adj. at small adj. and n.2 Compounds 4).In Britain, under the terms of the 1997 Firearms (Amendment) Act, full-bore pistols are banned, and a person possessing a full- or small-bore rifle or a muzzle-loading pistol must be a member of an approved rifle club.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [adjective] > by type of bore
rifled1619
screwed1657
full bore1666
wreathed1681
smooth-bore1799
small-bore1833
unrifled1851
poly-grooved1858
smooth-bored1859
polygroove1863
cylinder-bored1881
1666 Brief Descr. Province Carolina 7 Provided always, That every Man be armed with a Musquet full bore.
1848 Western Farmer & Gardener 77/2 ‘Musket balls full bore,’ were a legal tender in Massachusetts in 1756, ‘current for a farthing apiece, provided that no man be compelled to take above 12 at a time.’
1871 A. D. Richardson & A. S. Richardson Garnered Sheaves v. 194 The bullets were required to be ‘full-bore’, and passed for one penny each.
1890 J. C. Cox Three Cent. Derbyshire Ann. I. 159 One musket is reported as ‘not full bore’ [in 1638].
1972 Fortnight 7 Sept. 12/2 Full-bore rifles owned by clubs would, in future, be stored in armouries under supervision.
1993 Air Gunner Nov. 22/2 Brocock's fabulous revolvers offer all the thrills and spills of full-bore hand gunning—without the smoke!
2009 S. Mariani Hope Vendetta xxix. 153 What most of the crowd had come to watch, was the open-class full-bore rifle shoot.
2. That exactly fills or blocks a pipe, tube, or similar container; that is as much as a particular pipe, tube, etc., can hold. Also: corresponding to the maximum possible flow.
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1867 Rep. Select Comm. East London Water Bills, &c. 189 in Parl. Papers (H. C. 399) IX. 1 We use the full bore ferrules, that is just half an inch in diameter; that supplies a pipe of just half an inch in diameter.
1870 Cassell's Househ. Guide I. 258/1 The Economiser is in a position to pour in a supply to the extent of its full-bore capacity.
1920 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 97 243 Full-bore plugs were provided at the lower end of these tubes.
1962 Jrnl. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 57 379 Gravity drainage systems..are designed for less than full-bore flow.
1987 Limnol. & Oceanogr. 32 841 A clear PVC tube..with a surface controlled, fullbore opening ball valve.
2002 A. F. E. Wise & J. A. Swaffield Water, Sanitary & Waste Services for Buildings (ed. 5) viii. 110/1 The frictional losses in full-bore pipe flow have been fully investigated.
3. colloquial. Possessing or exhibiting a specified quality, condition, etc., to the fullest possible extent; complete, thoroughgoing, full-blown.
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the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [adjective] > of a state, quality, or action
strict1597
complete1645
full bore1967
1967 Times 10 Mar. 33/1 A new Australian play, Desire of the Moth, a full bore melodrama.
1977 Forbes (Nexis) 1 Nov. 98 There is a bill now in the banking committee that provides for a full-bore lending facility for credit unions to meet liquidity problems.
1983 80 Micro Mar. 30/1 A pair of disk drives and a printer joined up somewhere along the way, so by now it's a pretty full-bore system.
2001 P. Reizin Dumping Hilary (2002) x. 347 Monty skewers me with his full-bore sincerity look.
2013 L. Billings Five Billion Years Solitude i. 11 A full-bore search for alien radio transmissions from stars within a thousand light years of Earth.
C. adv.
Originally: to the full capacity or diameter of a pipe, pump, etc. In later use often gen. or figurative: at maximum capacity, at full speed.
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the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [adverb] > at full speed
full drive1662
full bore1756
careeringly1832
1756 Philos. Trans. 1755 (Royal Soc.) 49 320 When the water run [sic] full bore, at the rate of a gallon in 17 seconds, the heat of the water was found..to be 80 degrees above the freezing point.
1852 Sci. Amer. 14 Feb. 173/1 The only condition of lead in water-pipes, running full bore, which was not met [etc.].
1927 Bulletin (Sydney) 30 June 13/4 If the cord is pulled while on a bridge or other undesirable stopping place, the driver may, by..working his pump hard and his engine ‘full-bore’, keep going.
1974 E. Bowen Henry & Other Heroes iii. 66 When Doctor Downs came roaring down, at the bottom of his buzz he hit the haystack full bore.
1994 G. Paulsen Winterdance iii. 74 Their coats sleek up with added meat and fat (as much as they can eat when the training is going full bore).
2005 N.Y. Times 6 Feb. 25/3 Three months later, Mr. Arganese is still going full bore.
Phrases
at full bore: at full capacity; at maximum strength or speed. Cf. sense C.Cf. numerous similar expressions such as at full blast at blast n.1 4c, at full lick at lick n. 6, (at) full pelt at pelt n.2 3a, (at) full split at split n.1 4a, at full tilt at tilt n.2 Additions, etc.
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1851 Artizan Aug. 181/2 ‘A supply of water’..may mean either a charge running at full bore, or a mere dribble.
1872 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 19 Apr. 461/2 In one case, the gas was discovered discharging at full bore ‘from an eight-inch main’.
1938 ‘N. Shute’ Kindling v. 103 The yard employed three thousand men when it was working at full bore.
1964 C. Willock Enormous Zoo iii. 48 When one of the mums discovered that her children were missing she came back through the grass at full bore.
2003 Environmental Health Perspectives 111 A220/1 When personal watercraft are on the water, they typically are ridden at full-bore.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.adv.1622