Definition of "breechblock" []

• The metal part that closes the breech end of the barrel of a breechloading gun and that is removed to insert a cartridge and replaced before firing. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "We get to figure out how many of you can tell a breechblock from a breach cloth."
• "That way, because # .22 caliber long rifle cartridge is rim-fire ignited, the plunger, when released by the trigger, would both fire the piece and act as a breechblock."
• "Brad noted that Rimov was staring at the intensity slide visible on the breechblock of his sheathed weapon."