How to Use shotgun in a Sentence

shotgun

noun
  • For someone to start with the shotgun and leave the rifle.
    — Christine Pelisek, Peoplemag, 7 Oct. 2023
  • This time, the team snared it and dispatched it with a 12 gauge shotgun.
    — Paul Richards, Field & Stream, 30 Aug. 2023
  • So, Paul was shot first … he was shot twice with a shotgun.
    — CBS News, 4 Mar. 2023
  • Both the bench and the rear sport buckets are padded enough that calling shotgun will be a game of the past.
    — Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, 10 July 2023
  • At the same time, hunting and shotgun trends tend to be cyclical.
    — Joe Genzel, Outdoor Life, 28 Mar. 2024
  • The deputy holding the shotgun stays in the same spot and aims the weapon at what appears to be someone coming out of the garage.
    — Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 3 Apr. 2024
  • Jared Goff took the shotgun snap and Reynolds quickly broke open on an option route past the line to gain.
    — Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2024
  • The goats rode shotgun, their seat covered in plastic and hay.
    — Michael Wilson, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2023
  • In the courtroom, his lawyer, Jim Griffin, held up a shotgun.
    — Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2023
  • Red herrings like the guy with the shotgun who ran and never returned.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
  • But hopes of a quick cash grab and a Vegas-style shotgun wedding are gone.
    — Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 6 June 2023
  • Cline wrote that a records trace of the shotgun revealed a relative of Porter’s had bought it.
    — Zaeem Shaikh, Dallas News, 26 Apr. 2023
  • Stopping some 30 feet away, the zebra once again stared at the men, who had shotguns pointed in the air.
    — Jonathan Edwards, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Mar. 2023
  • The gunman fired at least 65 rounds from an AR-15, six from a shotgun and five from a handgun.
    — Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 15 Nov. 2023
  • An X-ray revealed that a .410-gauge shotgun pellet hit the agent’s leg.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, Fox News, 9 June 2023
  • More like don’t look down the barrel of Alec Baldwin’s shotgun.
    — William Earl, Variety, 13 June 2023
  • The Bengals’ offense took 52 of their 54 snaps against the Browns from shotgun, and Burrow had the ninth-fastest time to throw of his career.
    — Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 15 Sep. 2023
  • He’s been riding shotgun with me for a little while now.
    — Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 6 Feb. 2024
  • Sometime after that video was taken, Paul was shot in the chest and head with a shotgun at close range.
    — Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 5 Sep. 2023
  • The next day, Jan. 5, Andrew sought out the family shotgun.
    — Kathleen McGrory, ProPublica, 6 Jan. 2024
  • According to the prosecution, Paul was shot in the chest and head with a shotgun at close range.
    — Steve Helling, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2023
  • Bryan joined the chase in his own truck and recorded Travis McMichael shooting Arbery at close range with a shotgun.
    — Russ Bynum, ajc, 11 Mar. 2023
  • He was found guilty of fatally shooting Bianca with a 12-gauge shotgun blast to the chest.
    — David Chiu, Peoplemag, 22 Aug. 2023
  • On one side of the flyer, Taylor, with a subtle smile, holds a shotgun over one shoulder.
    — Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 20 Mar. 2024
  • The detective said that the shotgun was recovered from the bedroom.
    — Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 14 Aug. 2023
  • Paul was shot by a shotgun, which caused catastrophic damage to the top of his head.
    — Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 10 Mar. 2023
  • Two were killed with a shotgun.
    — Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Police were called back after a short time to a report that the son was walking around with a shotgun.
    — Charlotte Observer, 6 Feb. 2026
  • Her 16-year-old stepson was able to grab the shotgun and fire two rounds at the suspect.
    — Scott Butler, Florida Times-Union, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Burnham was shot point blank in the face with a 12-gauge shotgun and died instantly, according to police.
    — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026

Some of 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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