CALIBRE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Calibre

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noun

Calibre, Caliber n.

(Gunnery) The diameter of the bore, as a cannon or other firearm, or of any tube; or the weight or size of the projectile which a firearm will carry; as, an 8 inch gun, a 12-pounder, a 44 caliber. "The caliber of empty tubes." "A battery composed of three guns of small caliber." Note: The caliber of firearms is expressed in various ways. Cannon are often designated by the weight of a solid spherical shot that will fit the bore; as, a 12-pounder; pieces of ordnance that project shell or hollow shot are designated by the diameter of their bore; as, a 12 inch mortar or a 14 inch shell gun; small arms are designated by hundredths of an inch expressed decimally; as, a rifle of.44 inch caliber.

The diameter of round or cylindrical body, as of a bullet or column.

Fig.: Capacity or compass of mind.

Caliber compasses. See Calipers.

Caliber rule, a gunner's calipers, an instrument having two scales arranged to determine a ball's weight from its diameter, and conversely.

A ship's caliber, the weight of her armament.

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Etymology of 'Calibre'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Calibre" Quotes from Famous Books

... stories are written by men who take good care never to get within a hundred miles of the fighting line, but content themselves with an easy chair, a cigar, a bottle of whisky, and carpet slippers on the stoep of some good hotel in a pretty little Boer town. To scribes of this calibre flock a certain class of British resident, who is always full to the very ears of his own dauntless courage, his deathless loyalty to the Queen and Empire, his love for the soldier, and his hatred of the Boer. This gallant class of British resident has ...

— Campaign Pictures of the War in South Africa (1899-1900) - Letters from the Front • A. G. Hales

... aunque no sea mas que la ilusion de hallarse junto a una mujer de este calibre, es lo suficiente para no pegar los ...

— Legends, Tales and Poems • Gustavo Adolfo Becquer

... well fortified at Imus with trenches and stockades extending from the estate-house fort in several directions, defended by an army of 6,000 to 7,000 men. Their artillery was most primitive, however, consisting only of a few small guns called lantacas, some new guns of small calibre roughly cast out of the church bells, and iron waterpipes of large diameter converted into mitrailleuse mortars. They were strongly entrenched behind a mile and a half of strategically constructed earthworks defending ...

— The Philippine Islands • John Foreman

... of the southern islands in the Malay Archipelago, wandered from thence to distant Celebes has not been satisfactorily accounted for. The records of savage tribes depend on oral tradition, but the outlines of an oft-told tale become blurred and dim during the lapse of ages, when the mental calibre of the racial type lacks normal acumen. The graces of life are ignored by the Alfoer woman, her mouth invariably distorted by the red lump of betel-nut, accommodated with difficulty, and rendering silence imperative. Her bowed shoulders become deformed with the heavy ...

— Through the Malay Archipelago • Emily Richings

... mounted on their vessels, twenty pieces of cannon of different calibre," wrote Patterson, after this tame affair. "And, as I have since learnt, they had from eight hundred to one thousand men of all nations and colors. When I perceived the pirates forming their vessels into a line of battle I felt confident, from their fleet and very advantageous position, ...

— Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers of the Sea • Charles H. L. Johnston

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