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blunderbuss
noun
blun·der·buss
ˈblən-dər-ˌbəs 
1
: a muzzle-loading firearm with a short barrel and flaring muzzle to facilitate loading
2
: a blundering person
Examples of blunderbuss in a Sentence
leave it to that blunderbuss to bungle a job that a child could do
Recent Examples on the Web
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
Colman is Edith Swan, a middle-aged church lady who still lives with her blunderbuss of a father (Timothy Spall) and mild-mannered mother (Gemma Jones) in a working-class neighborhood of Littlehampton.
—
Ty Burr,
Washington Post,
4 Apr. 2024
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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
Colman is Edith Swan, a middle-aged church lady who still lives with her blunderbuss of a father (Timothy Spall) and mild-mannered mother (Gemma Jones) in a working-class neighborhood of Littlehampton.
—
Ty Burr,
Washington Post,
4 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for blunderbuss
Cite this Entry
“Blunderbuss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blunderbuss. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
blunderbuss
noun
blun·der·buss
ˈblən-dər-ˌbəs
: a muzzle-loader with a short barrel and cone-shaped muzzle to make loading easier
Etymology
derived from an obsolete Dutch word donderbus, literally, "thundergun"
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