blunderbuss

noun

blun·​der·​buss ˈblən-dər-ˌbəs 

1

: a muzzle-loading firearm with a short barrel and flaring muzzle to facilitate loading

2

: a blundering person

Illustration of blunderbuss

• blunderbuss 1

Synonyms

• blunderer
• botcher
• bumbler
• bungler
• butcher
• fumbler
• screwup

Examples of blunderbuss in a Sentence

leave it to that blunderbuss to bungle a job that a child could do

Recent Examples on the Web

What the Supreme Court should not do is hand down a blunderbuss of a legal rule — one that could very well throw every public school in the country into turmoil — based on a half-baked legal theory constructed by lawyers who don’t even know if their clients’ rights were violated yet. —Ian Millhiser, Vox, 15 Apr. 2025

Now comes President Donald Trump with his blunderbuss actions that weaken or threaten to weaken the press across the board, perplexing us all who are paying attention. —Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2025

Cost cutting ‘blunderbuss’ DOGE is part of a long line of presidential efforts to take an ax to the administrative state. —Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025

Colman is Edith Swan, a middle-aged church lady who still lives with her blunderbuss of a father (Timothy Spall) and mild-mannered mother (Gemma Jones) in a working-class neighborhood of Littlehampton. —Ty Burr, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

by folk etymology from obsolete Dutch donderbus, from Dutch donder thunder + obsolete Dutch bus gun

First Known Use

1654, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for blunderbuss

• octopus
• platypus
• xenopus
• pithecanthropus
• puss

Kids Definition

blunderbuss

noun

blun·​der·​buss ˈblən-dər-ˌbəs 

: a muzzle-loader with a short barrel and cone-shaped muzzle to make loading easier

Etymology

derived from an obsolete Dutch word donderbus, literally, "thundergun"