gun-for-hire
Paid professional assassin
A gun-for-hire is a mercenary or hired killer—someone who performs violence for payment rather than loyalty or conviction.
The term extends to anyone who sells their skills without allegiance to a cause: She works as a gun-for-hire consultant, taking contracts from whoever pays.
The image is of a gunslinger in the Old West, available to the highest bidder.
Professional paid murderer
- triggermanHired killer with firearm
- enforcerOne who ensures compliance
- executionerOne who kills condemned
- liquidatorOne who dissolves entities
mark · target · elimination · silencer · bounty · underworld · syndicate · mob
Fugitive from justice
- gunslingerExpert pistol fighter
- sharpshooterExpert precision shooter
- frontierEdge of settlement
- saloonDrinking establishment, often frontier
sheriff · desperado · six-shooter · holster · duel · quick-draw · stagecoach · railroad
Hired construction professional
- legionnaireSoldier in a legion
- sellswordPaid combat professional
- paramilitaryUnofficial armed organization
- blackwaterToilet waste or tannin-stained swamp
battlefield · deployment · warzone · munitions · tactical · extraction · bodyguard · warfare
Self-employed service provider
- consultantProfessional advice provider
- troubleshooterOne who diagnoses problems
- fixerOne who resolves issues
- tempProvisional worker, briefly
problem-solver · outsourced · specialist · professional · dealmaker · lobbyist · operative
hitman
Professional paid murderer
- triggermanHired killer with firearm
- enforcerOne who ensures compliance
- executionerOne who kills condemned
liquidator · mark · target · elimination · silencer · bounty · underworld · syndicate · mob · cartel
outlaw
Fugitive from justice
- gunslingerExpert pistol fighter
- sharpshooterExpert precision shooter
- frontierEdge of settlement
saloon · sheriff · desperado · six-shooter · holster · duel · quick-draw · stagecoach · railroad · tombstone
contractor
Hired construction professional
- legionnaireSoldier in a legion
- sellswordPaid combat professional
- paramilitaryUnofficial armed organization
blackwater · battlefield · deployment · warzone · munitions · tactical · extraction · bodyguard · warfare · commission
freelancer
Self-employed service provider
- consultantProfessional advice provider
- troubleshooterOne who diagnoses problems
- fixerOne who resolves issues
temp · problem-solver · outsourced · specialist · professional · dealmaker · lobbyist · operative
gun-for-hireidealist
Pursuer of noble principles
crusader · true believer · patriot · freedom fighter · volunteer
gun-for-hiresoldier
Armed forces member
regular army · enlisted soldier · serviceman · officer · loyalist
hire, hired, hiring, gunning, hires, gunner, gunned, gunners, gunsmith