as in flintlocks
a type of long gun that was used by soldiers before the invention of the rifle
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Recent Examples of muskets
Then the French started to standardize their muskets.
—
The New Yorker, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
When tension broke, one side was equipped with steel swords, muskets, and gunpowder.
—Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
The printing press, clocks, muskets — all these inventions changed humankind forever.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
Audiences are immersed in the horrors of the war, which was fought eyeball to eyeball by landless men wielding muskets, unreliable rifles and terrifying bayonets.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 16 Nov. 2025
Some boys with muskets, circa Ye Olde America?
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Nov. 2025
There is also pretty but not always energetic imagery filmed in different referenced parts of the current American wilderness — snow gathering in fields, mist rising above mountaintops — and never-energetic shots of re-enactors loading muskets or preparing for battle.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2025
Here, in the middle of British New York, and before that Dutch New Amsterdam, is where muskets were fired and the empire had its very last outpost in 1783, after the war ended.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 23 Oct. 2025
Some of them waged it, encamping with the armies, cooking, cleaning, and nursing, and, in a few exceptional cases, grabbing muskets themselves.
—Jane Kamensky, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
The New Yorker, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
When tension broke, one side was equipped with steel swords, muskets, and gunpowder.
—Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
The printing press, clocks, muskets — all these inventions changed humankind forever.
—Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
Audiences are immersed in the horrors of the war, which was fought eyeball to eyeball by landless men wielding muskets, unreliable rifles and terrifying bayonets.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 16 Nov. 2025
Some boys with muskets, circa Ye Olde America?
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Nov. 2025
There is also pretty but not always energetic imagery filmed in different referenced parts of the current American wilderness — snow gathering in fields, mist rising above mountaintops — and never-energetic shots of re-enactors loading muskets or preparing for battle.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 Nov. 2025
Here, in the middle of British New York, and before that Dutch New Amsterdam, is where muskets were fired and the empire had its very last outpost in 1783, after the war ended.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 23 Oct. 2025
Some of them waged it, encamping with the armies, cooking, cleaning, and nursing, and, in a few exceptional cases, grabbing muskets themselves.
—Jane Kamensky, The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muskets
Noun
-
The bribery charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years behind bars, wire fraud tops out at 20 years and the firearms violation could bring up to 20 years in prison.—
Tom Winter,
NBC news,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Bellaphant was prohibited from possessing firearms due to a 2015 sentence for aiding and abetting first-degree burglary, according to a past criminal complaint.—
Mara H. Gottfried,
Twin Cities,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Brown was sitting in a white BMW that Fluker and Westbrook allegedly followed to a store near Seventh Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, before opening fire with two pistols and a rifle, authorities say.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
28 Feb. 2026
-
In one recent prosecution, the Department of Justice charged a father-son duo with attempting to drive more than 300 rifles and pistols, plus ammunition and magazines, over the Mexican border.—
Lauren Villagran,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Muskets.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muskets. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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