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
Following a large explosion inside the garage that quickly engulfed the house in flames, Thomas ran out of the home holding a shotgun, and several police officers opened fire at him. — Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 26 July 2026 Fifteen to 20 seconds later, the suspect emerged from the burning home carrying a shotgun while wearing a tactical vest loaded with ammunition. — Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 25 July 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
  • Investors have been seeking details on Zuckerberg’s AI strategy, which has been scattershot and left Meta behind OpenAI, Anthropic and Google in the market for top models and services.
    — Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 30 July 2026
  • As seemingly scattershot as the box-office yields for these films can be, don’t expect live-action remakes of classic animation to turn into a pumpkin anytime soon.
    — Chris Lee, Vulture, 14 July 2026
Definition of scattershot
Noun
  • 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
  • Those artifacts include musket balls found in the floorboards years ago during a renovation of Hollis Hall, a dormitory that soldiers used during fighting.
    — Ira Porter, Christian Science Monitor, 3 July 2026
Definition of musket
Verb
  • And the Israeli army remains a few miles south, its presence marked by the occasional plume of smoke where its artillery hits, and the rip of machine-gun fire.
    — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2026
  • Armed guards patrolled federal buildings; machine-gun-toting snipers perched on rooftops.
    — Sarita Gupta, Time, 2 June 2026
Definition of machine-gun
Adjective
  • Researchers think that most bites are accidental; great white sharks mistake people for seals or sea lions.
    — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Lioness actress Laysla De Oliveira has become somewhat of an accidental action star.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of accidental
Noun
  • On non-festival days, there were 11 traffic stops, 16 parking citations, six tows, three non-traffic citations, two arrests and four firearm seizures.
    — Jessica Riley, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Joseph Henrichsen now faces additional charges of assaulting a federal employee with a deadly weapon, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer, the release said.
    — Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 31 July 2026
Definition of firearm
Adjective
  • One control heats the ions by applying random electric-field signals that add vibrational energy.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 31 July 2026
  • Every piece of content must serve as a culturally relevant entry point that accumulates brand equity, especially when day-to-day audience engagement can be largely random.
    — Stefano Marrone, Forbes.com, 31 July 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
  • After Fever guard Sophie Cunningham expressed her opinion that transgender girls don’t belong in youth sports, the W has once again become an inadvertent political prop in a larger conversation.
    — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
  • While taxpayers would still need to report their foreign financial accounts, combining two separate filing systems into one would eliminate a source of confusion that has resulted in many inadvertent filing failures.
    — Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes.com, 4 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 6 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on shotgun

Nglish: Translation of shotgun for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shotgun

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