Definition of "recoilless" [recoilless]

• Designed to minimize the effect of recoil: a recoilless rifle. (adjective)

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.

• "I made a replica of his version of the .75 recoilless pistol in my woodwork class!"
• "The insurgents also had an 82 mm recoilless rifle, a powerful weapon that usually fires shells designed to destroy tanks — a large weapon, heavy and difficult to carry."
• "Another Somali man said he saw rebels carting away artillery and machine guns from the ambush site, including B-10 recoilless rifles, mounted machine guns and dozens of AK-47s."