[Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin, from Latin, model]: the most solemn and unvarying part of the Mass including the consecration of the bread and wine
3
[Middle English, from Late Latin, from Latin, standard]
a
: an authoritative list of books accepted as Holy Scripture
b
: the authentic works of a writer
the Chaucer canon
c
: a sanctioned or accepted group or body of related works
the canon of great literature
4
a
: an accepted principle or rule
b
: a criterion or standard of judgment
the canons of good taste
c
: a body of principles, rules, standards, or norms
According to newspaper canon … a big story calls for a lot of copy.—A. J. Liebling
5
[Late Greek kanōn, from Greek, model]: a contrapuntal musical composition in which each successively entering voice presents the initial theme usually transformed in a strictly consistent way
Cannon and canon are occasionally confused by writers, but the two words have independent origins, and do not share a meaning. Cannon is most frequently found used in the sense of "a large gun," and can be traced to the Old Italian word cannone, which means "large tube." Canon, however, comes from the Greek word kanōn, meaning "rule." Although canon has a variety of meanings, it is most often found in the senses of "a rule or law of a church," "an accepted rule," or "a sanctioned or accepted group or body of related works." A loose cannon is "a dangerously uncontrollable person or thing." There are no loose canons.
law implies imposition by a sovereign authority and the obligation of obedience on the part of all subject to that authority.
obey the law
rule applies to more restricted or specific situations.
the rules of the game
regulation implies prescription by authority in order to control an organization or system.
regulations affecting nuclear power plants
precept commonly suggests something advisory and not obligatory communicated typically through teaching.
the precepts of effective writing
statute implies a law enacted by a legislative body.
a statute requiring the use of seat belts
ordinance applies to an order governing some detail of procedure or conduct enforced by a limited authority such as a municipality.
a city ordinance
canon suggests in nonreligious use a principle or rule of behavior or procedure commonly accepted as a valid guide.
the canons of good taste
Examples of cannon in a Sentence
Verb
The ball cannoned off the goalpost and into the net. Noun (2)
members of the church must abide by its canons
the canon of plays that are attributed to William Shakespeare
the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility is a lawyer's canonNoun (5)
as the scouts made their way through the canyon, they marveled at the sheer walls of rock on both sides
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The team's official drumline, The Pack, pounded on illuminated drums during quarter breaks, while Skye, the team's sassy, blue-haired lioness mascot, jumped onto the T-shirt cannon to launch souvenir merchandise high into stadium seats.—
Odette Yousef,
NPR,
29 Aug. 2026 With Bellinger’s cannon saving the day, the second-place Yankees improved to 76-58, while the third-place Red Sox fell to 73-61.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
29 Aug. 2026
Verb
Mehidy also shared a partnership of 46 with Hasan Mahmud (14) through Saturday morning before Hazlewood got his third wicket of the innings with a full and straight delivery that cannoned into the tailenders pads to be out leg before wicket.—ABC News,
14 Aug. 2026 But the Serb sent the ball cannoning off the umpire’s seat instead.—
Adam Zagoria,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2026
Noun
KPop Demon Hunter’s latest accolade is a reminder that the canon, too, remains far from fixed.—
Sophia Nguyen,
The Atlantic,
28 Aug. 2026 That opus, Rockstar, features 21 covers and nine original songs with just about every name in the classic canon.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
25 Aug. 2026
Noun
KPop Demon Hunter’s latest accolade is a reminder that the canon, too, remains far from fixed.—
Sophia Nguyen,
The Atlantic,
28 Aug. 2026 That opus, Rockstar, features 21 covers and nine original songs with just about every name in the classic canon.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
25 Aug. 2026
Noun
Los Alamos, not far from Santa Fe, sits at the foot of Pajarito Mountain in a land of canyons and mesas.—
Daniel De Visé,
USA Today,
25 Aug. 2026 Dropping off the ridges into the canyons was like descending into a furnace.—
Jack Dolan,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cannon
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English canon, from Anglo-French, from Old Italian cannone, literally, large tube, augmentative of canna reed, tube, from Latin, cane, reed — more at cane
Noun (2)
Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Latin, ruler, rule, model, standard, from Greek kanōn
Noun (3)
Middle English canoun, from Anglo-French *canoun, chanoun, from Late Latin canonicus one living under a rule, from Latin, according to rule, from Greek kanonikos, from kanōn
Noun (5)
American Spanish cañón, probably alteration of obsolete Spanish callón, augmentative of calle street, from Latin callis footpath
Noun
Turkish & Arabic; Turkish kānun, from Arabic qānūn, from Greek kanōn monochord, measuring line, standard
Copy Citation
