A handgun is a firearm designed to be held in one hand when used, with the other hand supporting the shooting hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from their larger counterparts: long guns such as rifles and shotguns (which are held in both hands), mounted weapons such as machine guns and autocannons, and larger weapons such as artillery.
Some handgun subtypes include single-shot pistols, revolvers, semi-automatic pistols, pepperboxes, and machine pistols.