shotgun 1 of 3

Definition of shotgunnext

shotgun

2 of 3

noun

shotgun

3 of 3

verb

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
In 2019, in non-shotgun formations, Jackson had 19 drop-backs and combined with Ravens running backs for 27 carries, according to Sports Info Solutions. Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 3 June 2021 Lunch and registration begin at 11 a.m., with a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start. Post-Tribune, 7 July 2017
Noun
Smith lined up to Oladokun’s left in the shotgun. Kansas City Star, 26 Dec. 2025 The 65-year-old son of the late Queen Elizabeth reportedly turned over his firearms and shotgun certificate to the Metropolitan Police following a visit last month, according to the BBC, The Telegraph and other outlets. Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025
Verb
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
Noun
  • The printing press, clocks, muskets — all these inventions changed humankind forever.
    Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
  • The mind thrills to imagine a genderless prophet among the brocades and buckskin breeches of Revolutionary America, weirding out the normies, sticking a flower in the barrel of a musket, and goading the new nation to let its hair down—literally.
    Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Adjective
  • Trump spent the first half of 2025 roiling Mexico’s economy with scattershot demands.
    Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2025
  • As 2025 comes to a close, Meta’s strategy remains scattershot, according to insiders and industry experts, feeding the perception that the company has fallen further behind its top AI rivals, whose models are rapidly gaining adoption in the consumer and enterprise markets.
    Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 9 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • The employee is authorized to carry a firearm, but is not a member of the Lawrence Police Department.
    Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Officers allegedly found about 525 shell casings and 13 firearms.
    Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Elvyn Yohel Ramos Routt County Investigators also said Ramos filed an insurance claim reporting the fire as accidental.
    Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
  • In another show, with a lesser writer, such incongruities could be read as character inconsistencies, accidental oversights, mistakes.
    Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • 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
  • Trump would also stop treating the Europeans as enemies with his blunderbuss tariffs.
    Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Police said three of the guns had been reported stolen, and one handgun was equipped with a machine-gun conversion device.
    Sergio Candido, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Their recording was a kinetic thrashathon with machine-gun-fast guitar notes and solos and Hetfield’s convincing screams for mercy.
    Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Even more striking, the gas moved in a very orderly and coherent way, with far less random motion than the surrounding stars.
    Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Not random or easily forgotten.
    Jay Stahl, USA Today, 10 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Investigators also found eight 9 mm casings fired from a Glock pistol at the scene where Holmes was killed, according to the affidavit.
    Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Jan. 2026
  • At issue is whether the police search of Mangione's backpack was legal as officers went on to find a pistol, silencer and notebook inside.
    Christina Fan, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Shotgun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shotgun. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.

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