Word.ws English Dictionary

bringing a knife to a gunfight

bringing a knife to a gunfight is the present participle and gerund of bring a knife to a gunfight.

Meaning of bring a knife to a gunfight

Verb

bring a knife to a gunfight (third-person singular simple present brings a knife to a gunfight, present participle bringing a knife to a gunfight, simple past and past participle brought a knife to a gunfight)

  1. (idiomatic) To enter into a confrontation or other challenging situation without being adequately equipped or prepared.
    • Isn't that just like a wop? Brings a knife to a gun fight.1987, David Mamet, The Untouchables

Questions about bringing a knife to a gunfight

What is bringing a knife to a gunfight the present participle and gerund of?
Bringing a knife to a gunfight is the present participle and gerund of bring a knife to a gunfight.

Words near bringing a knife to a gunfight in the dictionary

  1. bringeth
  2. bringhouse
  3. Bringhurst
  4. Bringhursts
  5. bringing
  6. bringing a knife to a gunfight
  7. bringing a lump to someone's throat
  8. bringing about
  9. bringing along
  10. bringing an end to
  11. bringing around

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: bringing a knife to a gunfight (page history and authors); bring a knife to a gunfight (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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