riot gun
noun
: 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
Video showed dozens of LAPD officers massed in a skirmish line across the street from the mob, gripping black and green riot guns that fire foam rounds.
—
Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
Next up is a distraught woman named Joëlle (Sandra Columbo) whose son Guillaume is in hospital with a fractured skull as the result of being shot in the head with a riot gun.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 15 May 2025
Then police, armed with riot gun, tear gas and clubs, formed into two large battalions and cleared the street in front of the gates. ...
—Scott Harrison, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2019
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, 8 Feb. 2018
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Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
Next up is a distraught woman named Joëlle (Sandra Columbo) whose son Guillaume is in hospital with a fractured skull as the result of being shot in the head with a riot gun.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 15 May 2025
Then police, armed with riot gun, tear gas and clubs, formed into two large battalions and cleared the street in front of the gates. ...
—Scott Harrison, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2019
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, 8 Feb. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Riot gun.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/riot%20gun. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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