riot gun

noun

Definition of riot gun

: a small arm used to disperse rioters rather than to inflict serious injury or death especially : a short-barreled shotgun

Examples of riot gun in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The ammunition issued for the riot guns was lethal buckshot, shells used by deer hunters that contain nine to 12 pellets as large as .38 caliber pistol slugs. — Deneen L. Brown, Washington Post, "‘Stained with blood’: The 1968 campus massacre of black protesters by South Carolina police," 8 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'riot gun.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Time Traveler for riot gun

The first known use of riot gun was in 1886

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