shotgun 1 of 3

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
Lunch and registration begin at 11 a.m., with a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start. Post-Tribune, 7 July 2017 Outing highlights include: Registration, lunch and a putting contest (noon) Shotgun start (1:30 p.m.) Dinner (6:30 p.m.) Proximities, skins, awards and a 50/50 raffle Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the event. Megan Becka, cleveland.com, 13 June 2017
Noun
At a prayer march a day earlier on Sunday, community members armed with shotguns, rifles and other guns stood on the perimeter keeping watch. Scott Wartman, The Enquirer, 3 July 2025 He was found with a flint starter and a shotgun, according to Norris. Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 1 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for shotgun
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shotgun
Noun
  • On April 19, 1775, the crack of a musket marked the first official command for colonists to fire upon the red-coated army of Britain’s King George III.
    Lisa Meyers McClintick, USA Today, 21 June 2025
  • Depictions of Warren tend to show him in military uniform, with a sword or a musket.
    Eliza McGraw, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 June 2025
Adjective
  • Everything else was a scattershot mess with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) taking on the wholly underwhelming villain Whiplash (Mickey Rourke).
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 25 July 2025
  • Up to now, the policy has been haphazardly applied, through scattershot raids on locations such as Home Depot parking lots.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
Noun
  • Many shared frustrations with blunderbuss antitrust enforcement, foot-dragging on Medicare approvals for life-saving drugs, regulation by litigation, or red tape.
    Sam Liccardo, Mercury News, 15 July 2025
  • And with the Trump administration taking a blunderbuss to anything that remotely resembles DEI, the mood across the entertainment industries is generally apprehensive.
    Zak Cheney-Rice, Vulture, 2 June 2025
Adjective
  • Today, even minor missteps—whether accidental or intentional—can rapidly escalate, leading to public crises that damage reputations and erode the trust organizations have worked hard to build.
    Maria Trochimezuk, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
  • Despite suspicions of foul play from both U.S. and Zambian officials, local police declared Bianca’s death the result of an accidental discharge of a firearm.
    Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 23 July 2025
Noun
  • That’s about when Derrick Perry, the other Marine, pulled out his firearm as others screamed at Gille to drop the knife.
    Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 27 July 2025
  • According to a 2022 article in the Korea Herald, private guns are intended for shooting athletes, manufacturers and sellers of firearms, and for those who need them for construction or as props in film or TV production.
    Kayti Burt, Time, 25 July 2025
Adjective
  • The program tried to learn from every hand — even the bad hands that were doomed to fail — and ended up making mostly random moves.
    Andrew Montequin, jsonline.com, 29 July 2025
  • The final product is 12 songs long that turn the focus from random external objects to singer Blair Tramel’s personal experiences in the world.
    Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 29 July 2025
Noun
  • They were then directed to a safe house where a pistol with a silencer was waiting for them.
    Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 13 July 2025
  • On June 14, Naperville police allegedly found a 14-year-old carrying a loaded, semiautomatic pistol at a downtown takeover, authorities said.
    Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2025
Adjective
  • The homeowners, meanwhile, are locked in a separate case with Ocean over what Peck said was an inadvertent naming error in filing the 2017 assignment of rights.
    Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 July 2025
  • How Students Are Gaming The System Students have become inadvertent experts at understanding how language shapes AI responses.
    Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 19 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Shotgun.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shotgun. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.

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