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
Allen was armed with a shotgun, handgun, and multiple knives and ran toward the Washington Hilton ballroom where the dinner was being held after charging the event’s security checkpoint, according to the interim police chief for the Metropolitan Police Department, Jeff Carroll. Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 26 Apr. 2026 The police chief told reporters that the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. Luke Barr, ABC News, 26 Apr. 2026
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
  • Excerpts of the blue book, images of important battlefields and a replica of a Revolutionary War musket line the walls and bookshelves of the museum.
    Amanda Rosa Updated April 28, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Other projectiles, including pistol shot and lead musket balls, were also found.
    Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Bondi’s scattershot compliance of that law drew outrage from victims.
    Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2026
  • His pocket awareness still needs work, though, and the occasional scattershot stretch pops up from time to time.
    Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Allen will be arraigned Monday on charges, including assault of a federal officer and discharging a firearm in an attempt to kill a federal officer.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026
  • The suspect in the attack is being charged with two counts of using a firearm and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, according to the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, who did not name him publicly.
    Alayna Treene, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • An infant’s accidental exposure to an infected child can mean serious illness, brain swelling and sometimes death.
    Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Apr. 2026
  • An infant’s accidental exposure to an infected child can mean serious illness, brain swelling and sometimes death.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 28 Apr. 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
  • Iranian speed boats raking ships with machine-gun fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
    Jon Gambrell, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Senior Lieutenant Ivan Kavun, the commander of a machine-gun platoon in the 30th Mechanized Brigade, spent 486 days in a frontline deployment, according to his unit.
    Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN Money, 20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
  • Those aren’t just random stories.
    C.J. Holmes, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Law enforcement will also have random checkpoints throughout the county to catch impaired drivers, according to the department's website.
    Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • During raids in Czechia and Austria, police seized some weapons, such as knives, machetes, axes and gas pistols.
    ABC News, ABC News, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Cole Tomas Allen, who authorities say rushed a banquet room at the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday night, had legally bought a 12-gauge shotgun at the Turner’s location in his hometown of Torrance, as well as a semiautomatic pistol at CAP Tactical Firearms in neighboring Lawndale.
    Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Shotgun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shotgun. Accessed 2 May. 2026.

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