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holster

UK/ˈhɒlstə(ɹ)/US/ˈhɒlstə(ɹ)/
nounB2Common in everyday speech and writing · #5,656 of 15,258leans spoken

Other forms: holsters

A holster is the shaped case a handgun is carried in. Draw from the holster, a shoulder holster, snap the holster shut.

It is shaped to one weapon rather than general, and the retention strap is what stops the gun being taken from the wearer — police holsters are designed largely around that risk. The word came into English from Dutch.

Unknown · CC BY-SA 3.0

Definitions of holster

  1. 1nounholsterThe shaped case a handgun is carried in.B2

    “The police officer kept her gun in a holster on her belt.”

holster is a case.

Where it comes from

From Dutch holster, a pistol case, from a Germanic root meaning a covering.

  1. Proto-Germanic

    *hulastrą

  2. Old Saxon

    *holster

  3. Middle Low German

    holster

  4. Dutch

    holster — pistol-case, holster

  5. English, today

    holster

Built from

  • *hulistrą · Proto-Germanic — hull, case, covering

From Dutch holster (“pistol-case, holster”), from Middle Low German holster, from Old Saxon holster, ultimately from Proto-Germanic hulastrą, hulistrą (“hull, case, covering”). Cognate with Old English heolstor (“a covering, veil, hiding-place”), Danish hylster (“pistol case, envelope”), Icelandic hulstur (“sheath”), Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌻𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍂 (“covering”). Compare German Halfter (“pistol case”). Related to hull, hele.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Containers & Packaging

Practise this word

holster in the wild

  • Holsters are often attached to a belt or waistband, but they may be attached to other locations of the body (e.g., the ankle holster).

    Handgun holster

  • Some holsters have a flap over the top to protect the gun from the elements.

    Handgun holster

  • Berns-Martin is the name given to a brand of split-front holster made only for a revolver.

    Berns-Martin

  • Each chorus emphasises that although his holster has been, "empty for many a year"...

    The Broad Black Brimmer

  • Moreover, at the line about holster being empty, the phrase "but not for long" is in the original version, but omitted by many covers (e.g. by Brier).

    The Broad Black Brimmer

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.