AR-15
Military abbreviation · Weapon and Military Equipment
| Stands for | ArmaLite Rifle, model 15 |
|---|---|
| Categories | Military |
AR-15 stands for ArmaLite Rifle, model 15, a weapon and military equipment abbreviation.
Lightweight rifle design created in the late 1950s by Eugene Stoner at ArmaLite, which became the basis of the military M16 and M4. Today AR-15 usually means the civilian semi-automatic version, one of the best-selling rifles in the United States.
Example: The store sells AR-15 rifles from a dozen manufacturers in several calibers.
Usage notes
The "AR" stands for ArmaLite Rifle, the company's naming pattern (as with the earlier AR-10), not "assault rifle" or "automatic rifle." ArmaLite sold the design to Colt in 1959, and Colt still owns the AR-15 trademark, though many companies make compatible rifles called "AR-style" or "AR-platform." Civilian AR-15s fire one round per trigger pull, unlike select-fire military M16s and M4s.
Related abbreviations
More weapon and military equipment abbreviations
- AH – Attack helicopter
- AK-47 – Avtomat Kalashnikova (Kalashnikov automatic rifle), model 1947
- ALCM – Air-launched cruise missile
- AMRAAM – Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile
- APC – Armored personnel carrier
- APFSDS – Armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot
- ATACMS – Army Tactical Missile System
- ATGM – Anti-tank guided missile
- AWACS – Airborne Warning and Control System
- BFV – Bradley Fighting Vehicle
- BMD – Ballistic missile defense
- BZO – Battle sight zero