shot·gun
ˈshät-ˌgən 
1
: a usually smoothbore shoulder weapon capable of firing shot at short ranges
2
: an offensive football formation in which the quarterback plays a few yards behind the line of scrimmage and the other backs are scattered as flankers or slotbacks
shotgun
transitive verb
1
: of, relating to, or using a shotgun
2
: involving coercion
3
: covering a wide field with hit-or-miss effectiveness
Examples of shotgun in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 9 May 2024
One deputy fired multiple less-lethal shotgun rounds at Gilmore to stop and disarm him, but the rounds were ineffective.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for shotgun 
Noun
Their last encounter was just the week before, when the tom came in with hens but wouldn’t work into shotgun range.
—Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 9 May 2024
One deputy fired multiple less-lethal shotgun rounds at Gilmore to stop and disarm him, but the rounds were ineffective.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for shotgun
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shotgun.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Shotgun.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shotgun. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
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