as in chance
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as in musket
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Recent Examples of shotgun
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
Joe Leydon, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
But, where Grace walks under her own free will with a knife, Pam's shotgun-toting strolls occur only in her sleep.
—Mike Miller, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Nov. 2025
Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for 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
Of course, Sarah and her mom continue to believe that God is on their side, even after the family home is attacked by oil company thugs and a reliable ally winds up on the wrong end of a shotgun.
—Joe Leydon, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
But, where Grace walks under her own free will with a knife, Pam's shotgun-toting strolls occur only in her sleep.
—Mike Miller, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Nov. 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
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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
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Archaeologists in Scotland have excavated over 100 weapon projectiles, including cannon shot and lead musket balls from one of the country’s most famous battlefields.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Today, consistency is key, leading to a scattershot aesthetic.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Oct. 2025
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For the better part of the 2010s, Twitter struggled to balance a desire for free-speech maximalism with scattershot attempts to quell harassment on the platform.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The new study showed that every 1% increase in state-level firearm ownership was associated with a 6% increase in all-cause homicide and an 8% increase in the firearm-specific homicide rate in pregnant women, even after adjusting for other factors.—
Jen Christensen,
CNN Money,
10 Nov. 2025
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Robert Lee Beebe, 35, pleaded guilty to one count each of unlawful possession of a firearm and first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Denim’s workwear roots laid the foundation for Iron Shop Provisions founder Josh Guillory’s accidental journey into denim retail and design.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
11 Nov. 2025
-
The manner of death was listed as accidental.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
10 Nov. 2025
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
Verb
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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
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The pamphlet offered instructions for how to acoustically recognize an incoming threat and how to determine whether the source is machine-gun fire, artillery fire, rocket launchers, or an air raid.—
Joanna Warsza,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Rumors have swirled that Jaramillo was at the center of an ambush or that his murder was part of planned retribution, but Cordero-Stutz reaffirmed that his death was a random encounter that could have happened to any deputy that day.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
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This is the random bunch of misfits Courteney will have to transform into a team competitive enough to make it to nationals, and that will surely start to form one big family along the way.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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And the baddest of them all, Alucard (*cough* read that name back, right to left), wears a red trench coat, a pair of laughably huge pistols, and sunglasses at night to prove it.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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On Wednesday, Castro’s office said 113 people had been arrested, 10 teenagers were detained and authorities seized 91 rifles, 29 pistols, 14 explosive devices and one ton of cocaine.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shotgun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shotgun. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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