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
Allen, of Torrance, California, is accused of storming the WHCA dinner while armed with guns and knives and firing a shotgun at a Secret Service officer who tried to stop the April 25, 2026, attack at the Washington Hilton hotel. — ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026 Allen, of Torrance, is accused of storming the WHCA dinner while armed with guns and knives and firing a shotgun at a Secret Service officer who tried to stop the attack at the Washington Hilton hotel. — Michael Kunzelman, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 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
  • His albums have always embraced scattershot indulgence, with 18 or 25 or 34 tracks trying to capture his life and logic in toto.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The most prominent front-group involved in this scattershot terrorist campaign has been Harakat Ashab al Yamin al Islamiyah.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of scattershot
Noun
  • These soldiers formed ranks—in numbers not at all near four thousand—and with bulletless muskets levelled began to march up a service road through the park’s lawns and picnic tables.
    — Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • There were about sixty of them aboard the Cuyahoga Packet, and they were armed with swords and muskets.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 27 Oct. 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 medical examiner ruled his death accidental, with several secondary causes listed, including heat stress, tachycardia and osteoporosis.
    — Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
  • However, accidental damage and unrelated screen repairs may fall under different coverage terms.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of accidental
Noun
  • And unfortunately, there was another part of our party that didn't choose to be responsible with their firearm and fired too closely in my direction.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • According to the affidavit, William alleged that Don hit him on the right side of his head with the firearm.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of firearm
Adjective
  • And that’s a random sample of years and all 32 teams involved.
    — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Following the course of this ship right now is definitely random, but interesting.
    — Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of random
Noun
  • The blunderbuss of violations of the basic decorum and dignity of democracy have become such a daily matter that the increasingly familiar response is to sigh and surrender.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Trump would also stop treating the Europeans as enemies with his blunderbuss tariffs.
    — Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
Definition of blunderbuss
Adjective
  • The proposal would also establish that technical errors or inadvertent mistakes in the process cannot be a basis to stop the project.
    — Digital Producer, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In a region as rich with archaeological sites as the American Southwest, the inadvertent disturbance of Native American remains occurs with some regularity.
    — Ryan Devereaux, ProPublica, 2 Nov. 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 5 Nov. 2026.

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