musket

noun

Definition of musketnext
as in flintlock
a type of long gun that was used by soldiers before the invention of the rifle

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of musket The new United States needed muskets, cannons, ammunition, uniforms, cloth, food and credit. — R. Grant Gilmore Iii, The Conversation, 30 June 2026 Three people dressed as soldiers lined up for review by Washington, then fired shots from long muskets. — Jennifer Ludden, NPR, 27 June 2026 Independence without muskets and mortars, hurrah! — David Weiss, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026 Or, to put it in terms the Patriots understood, roughly 200,000 musket balls of metal were secreted away. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for musket
Recent Examples of Synonyms for musket
  1. flintlock
  2. shotgun
  3. matchlock
  4. blunderbuss
  5. smoothbore
  6. harquebus
  7. culverin
  8. firearm
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
  • Modern gun technologies are far, far more deadly than the one-shot flintlocks of the 18th century—shouldn’t that matter?
    — Robert J. Spitzer, Time, 6 June 2023
Definition of flintlock
Noun
  • The quarterback has worked diligently to change his shotgun stance, now putting his left foot in front of his right, and has sped up his decision making to get the ball to playmakers in space.
    — Joaquin Ruiz, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • According to court records, Silvia purchased a shotgun that year and then went to Woodard's Orlando-area home, where his wife had been living since their separation two months earlier.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of shotgun
Noun
  • The Ottomans deployed field artillery and Janissary infantry armed with matchlocks in a defensive formation called tabur jangi, in which carts and wagons were used to build barricades on the battlefield.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
  • The birth of ‘gunpowder warfare’ can be traced back to the 15th century and the invention of the matchlock gun, the first mechanical firing device.
    — Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2026
Definition of matchlock
Noun
  • Trump would also stop treating the Europeans as enemies with his blunderbuss tariffs.
    — Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 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
Definition of blunderbuss
Noun
  • Both tanks mount 120-125 mm smoothbore cannons capable of engaging armored vehicles at long range.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 30 June 2026
  • At least three states — Hawaii, Ohio and North Dakota — treat a smoothbore musket the same as an AK-47 or AR-15.
    — Allen G. Breed, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Definition of smoothbore
Noun
  • To put that in perspective, when Beretta started making arquebus barrels, Michelangelo was still working in Rome.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Definition of harquebus
Noun
  • 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
Definition of culverin
Noun
  • Bragg's office contends that the state charges, including murder and firearms offenses, involve different legal elements and criminal conduct than federal charges, which alleged Mangione traveled across state lines to stalk and kill Thompson.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Police said investigators obtained arrest warrants for malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and said additional charges could be added later.
    — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of firearm

Browse Nearby Words

muskegs
musket
musketeer
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Cite this Entry

“Musket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/musket. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on musket

Nglish: Translation of musket for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about musket

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