In a situation where you have fewer weapons, resources, or advantages than your opponent, putting you at a serious disadvantage.
From 'out-' (surpassing or exceeding) plus 'gunned' (armed with guns). The phrase became common in military writing in the early 1900s.
Outgunned became popularized during World War I reporting, when soldiers described being pinned down by superior firepower—it's one of those vivid words that captured the horror of modern mechanized warfare.
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