shotgun

noun shot·gun \ ˈshät-ˌgən \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of shotgun

1 : a smoothbore shoulder weapon for firing shot at short ranges

2 : an offensive football formation in which the quarterback plays a few yards behind the line of scrimmage and the other backs are scattered as flankers or slotbacks

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shotgun

transitive verb

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shotgunner

play \ˈshät-ˌgə-nər\ noun

See shotgun defined for English-language learners

See shotgun defined for kids

Recent Examples of shotgun from the Web

About that look: late in 2012’s Skyfall, Daniel Craig’s Bond walks through the Scottish countryside toting a shotgun.

— cam wolf, GQ, "This Might Be the Most Influential Menswear Outfit in Movie History," 7 Apr. 2018
Inside, police found a loaded handgun on the nightstand and a loaded shotgun behind a Marilyn Monroe poster of Rodriguez's bedroom, an officer wrote in the report.

— carli teproff, miamiherald, "The marijuana grow house in their back yard was just the beginning of their problems | Miami Herald," 6 Apr. 2018
Once inside the residence, the investigators located seven rifles, eight pistols and two shotguns.

— kim chatelain, NOLA.com, "Ponchatoula felon accused of having 17 guns, thousands of ammo rounds," 5 Apr. 2018
On the surface a guard is posted with a 12-gauge shotgun to watch out for polar bears.

— david hambling, Popular Mechanics, "How the Navy Punches a Nuclear Sub Through Arctic Ice," 5 Apr. 2018
But the upbeat, can-do shotgun-blasting climax gets the crowd going.

— michael phillips, chicagotribune.com, "'A Quiet Place' review: Hush, little family, don't say a word or the monsters will get you," 5 Apr. 2018
In addition to machine guns, the act regulated silencers and shotguns with barrels less than 18 inches long.

— Fortune, "How Buying and Selling Machine Guns in America Made This Man Rich — Yes, Actual Machine Guns," 5 Apr. 2018
On April 5, 1994, the world lost Kurt Cobain, who, at age 27, had committed suicide at his Seattle home with a 20-gauge shotgun.

— gillian telling, PEOPLE.com, "Inside Kurt Cobain's Tragic Suicide 24 Years After the Nirvana Legend's Death," 5 Apr. 2018
The verdict on Thursday, handed down by a court in the city of Petrozavodsk, cleared Mr. Dmitriev of the pornography accusations but convicted him on a lesser charge of illegally possessing parts for a shotgun.

— andrew e. kramer, New York Times, "Russian Historian Who Exposed Soviet Crimes Is Cleared in Pornography Case," 5 Apr. 2018

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

First Known Use of shotgun

1776

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

shotgun

adjective

Definition of shotgun

1 : of, relating to, or using a shotgun

2 : involving coercion

3 : covering a wide field with hit-or-miss effectiveness

Recent Examples of shotgun from the Web

Lunch and registration begin at 11 a.m., with a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start.

— Post-Tribune, "Community calendar," 7 July 2017
Outing highlights include: Registration, lunch and a putting contest (noon) Shotgun start (1:30 p.m.) Dinner (6:30 p.m.) Proximities, skins, awards and a 50/50 raffle Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the event.

— megan becka, cleveland.com, "Akron Snow Angels to hold golf outing fundraiser," 13 June 2017
Outing highlights include: Registration, lunch and a putting contest (noon) Shotgun start (1:30 p.m.) Dinner (6:30 p.m.) Proximities, skins, awards and a 50/50 raffle Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the event.

— megan becka, cleveland.com, "Akron Snow Angels to hold golf outing fundraiser," 13 June 2017
Check-in at 11 a.m. followed by 1 p.m. shotgun start.

— nick roth, The Mercury News, "Golf events, tournaments, fundraisers," 7 June 2017

First Known Use of shotgun

1892

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

SHOTGUN Defined for English Language Learners

shotgun

noun

Definition of shotgun for English Language Learners

: a gun with a long barrel that shoots a large number of small metal balls (called buckshot)
American football : an offensive formation in which the quarterback is a few yards behind the line of scrimmage at the start of a play