Definition of "breech-loading" [breech•-load•ing]

• Such that ammunition is loaded at the rear of the bore. (adjective)

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• "Most cannon are cast bronze, smooth bore, muzzleloading weapons, although some are breech-loading and older ones are constructed of iron bars welded and bound together."
• "Foreign sportsmen, most of them titled and well-heeled men from the British Isles and Europe with gold-plated bison guns, breech-loading rifles and Purdey shotguns, came with enormous entourages."
• "The battle extended to an area three miles by six miles, and soon turned into a series of single combats, in which the Rangers with reloadable .45-caliber six-shooters and breech-loading carbines held an enormous advantage of the bow-and-lance-wielding Comanches."