shotgun 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of shotgunnext
as in chance

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Dissimilar Words

shotgun

2 of 3

noun

as in musket

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shotgun

3 of 3

verb

as in to pistol

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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 shotgun
Adjective
Last season, Jackson went under center on just five drop-backs, while the Ravens’ primary ball-carriers had just 24 carries in non-shotgun looks. — Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 3 June 2021
Noun
Facing second-and-4 in the second quarter, Browning took a shotgun snap, and Anudike-Uzomah was there in an instant, zipping by Tampa Bay third-string tackle Marshall Fournier for a free shot on Browning. — Kansas City Star, 23 Aug. 2026 And Kerri Green, whose character Andy had an onscreen romance with Brolin’s Brand, would be sitting shotgun. — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
Verb
There have been sets with three tight ends, formations that start under center and some that use formation shifts to move from a single-back set to shotgun. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Aug. 2026 Westman had decorated the assault rifle and shotgun with hate speech in ways that aligned with the dark underbelly of alt-right meme culture that regularly disparages people of color, Jewish people, the LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities. — Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for shotgun
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shotgun
  1. scattershot
  2. musket
  3. machine-gun
  4. accidental
  5. firearm
  6. random
  7. blunderbuss
  8. inadvertent
Adjective
  • Elwood scanned the bullet points, a scattershot list of demands.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
  • All this scattershot world-building and world-visiting allows for some colorfully diverting vignettes, in which production designer Alexandra Walker and costume designer Ann Maskrey get to show off their giddy, gaudy wares.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of scattershot
Noun
  • The alleged texts between the boys, who attended Switzerland Point Middle School, contained information about building a shotgun and musket, as well as obtaining zip ties, per the arrest report.
    — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Most of the statue was melted down and reformed into musket balls, and several of these are on display in the opening section of the show across from four large intact pieces of the original.
    — Cat Dawson, ARTnews.com, 3 July 2026
Definition of musket
Verb
  • Amid pratfalls and slapstick high jinks, Curry conducts his costars in a symphony of chaos, and rattles off zinger after zinger while also conveying the plot and ultimately the denouement in his machine-gun line readings.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The band blasted into a machine-gun pace, waking the entire crowd.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of machine-gun
Adjective
  • The impact-absorbing cushioning is also a plus for my grandma, as is the rubber sole, which prevents accidental falls or slips.
    — Essence Wiley, InStyle, 5 Sep. 2026
  • An investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department remains ongoing, but KTLA previously reported that officials believe the crash was accidental.
    — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of accidental
Noun
  • Officers also found several large shipping boxes containing precious metals, two unregistered firearms, and more than $105,000 in cash, according to the sheriff’s department.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • We are introduced to Celeste at target practice with her impressive arsenal of firearms, which get suspiciously little play once the action finally arrives.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of firearm
Adjective
  • Raman is now easily scoring off of Bass mishaps, like the mayor’s response to the Lineage warehouse fire and her random broadside against street vendors during a debate in Sherman Oaks last month.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Several Chinese research teams developed and tested the coherent routing system for bucket-brigade quantum random access memory, or QRAM, Science and Technology Daily reported on Wednesday.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of random
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
Adjective
  • There was an inadvertent breach of the league’s rules in their opening game against Hull City, when the team wore the badge on only one sleeve.
    — Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Serialization itself is interesting—the inadvertent or almost incidental meaning that can come from putting one thing next to another thing.
    — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of inadvertent

Browse Nearby Words

shot down
shotgun
shotgunned
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Cite this Entry

“Shotgun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shotgun. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on shotgun

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shotgun

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