as in musket
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Recent Examples of matchlock
Guns are a part of American life, and have been since the very beginning, from the matchlock muskets arming the earliest colonies to the Colt revolvers and Winchester rifles of the Old West to the Glock handgun of today.
—
Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 7 Mar. 2018
First-generation matchlock rifles, tanks, and aircraft had major limitations but improved over time.
—Paul Scharre, Foreign Affairs, 15 Feb. 2018
Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 7 Mar. 2018
First-generation matchlock rifles, tanks, and aircraft had major limitations but improved over time.
—Paul Scharre, Foreign Affairs, 15 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for matchlock
Noun
-
Then the French started to standardize their muskets.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
4 Feb. 2026
-
His 134 men were armed with musket, cartridge pouch, and sword in case of a hostile encounter, and the Africaansche Galey lay close by with a couple of small cannon brought forward on the bow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Smoke billowed from his flintlock and Rhoades didn’t see where the buck ran after the shot.—
Bob McNally,
Outdoor Life,
28 Jan. 2026
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The flintlock pistol that Torres is given by the Yautja to fight his fellow prisoners is known by Predator fans as the Raphael Adolini 1715 pistol for an engraved plate that says just that.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
13 June 2025
Noun
-
This tank is potentially equipped with a 130mm smoothbore gun.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Martin's cousin, Braeden Fields, spoke to The Associated Press about the shotgun-wielding 21-year-old.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
1 Mar. 2026
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Calls began to escalate so much that the victim exited his residence with a shotgun.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Researchers recently found medieval cannonballs from culverins, an early form of cannon, that were most likely used by Vlad the Impaler, during his bloody battle in 1461 with the Ottoman Turks.—
Fox News,
Fox News,
5 Aug. 2019
Noun
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With feverish speed and characteristic blunderbuss, President Donald Trump has given the federal government – and himself – unprecedented control over private economic decisions.—
Matthew Mitchell,
Twin Cities,
28 Sep. 2025
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Trump would also stop treating the Europeans as enemies with his blunderbuss tariffs.—
Trudy Rubin,
Mercury News,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Under that framework, the government must show that a gun law is consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.—
Melissa Quinn,
CBS News,
1 Mar. 2026
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Those fees collected would be directed towards a state treasury fund and would be used to support survivors of firearm injuries and boost gun violence prevention efforts.—
Otis Moss III,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Authorities said Diagne used both a pistol and a rifle during the attack.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
3 Mar. 2026
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Police in Austin shot and killed the gunman, who used a pistol and a rifle to carry out the attack, police said.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Matchlock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/matchlock. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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