1. a firearm that is loaded from the rear of the barrel (the breech) rather than from the muzzle
Usage: historical; refers to firearms technology developed in the 19th century

Examples

• The breechloader was a major advancement over the muzzleloader in terms of speed and ease of loading.
• Civil War soldiers increasingly relied on breechloaders as the conflict progressed.
• The Spencer rifle was one of the most famous breechloaders of the 19th century.
• Breechloaders allowed soldiers to reload their weapons more quickly while in combat.
• By the late 1800s, most military forces had replaced muzzleloaders with breechloaders.