Shotgun Meaning
/ˈʃɒtɡʌn/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA gun which fires loads typically consisting of small metal balls, called shot, from a cartridge.
nounThe front passenger seat in a vehicle, next to the driver; so called because the position of the shotgun-armed guard on a horse-drawn stage-coach, wagon train, or gold transport was next to the driver on a forward-mounted bench seat. Can also be used in situations of claiming other resources such as bedrooms.
Sentence Examples
The hunter aimed a shotgun at the flock of birds.
Willie accidentally let off his father's shotgun and made a hole in the wall.
He was charged with possessing a shotgun without a licence.
CEFR Practice Quiz
To hunt ducks in the marsh, the man carried a ____ that could shoot many small pellets.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The farmer carried a ____ to protect his livestock from the predators that had been seen near the barn.
Word Origin & History
From shot + gun. Front passenger seat sense comes from ride shotgun.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"You can't talk to a man / With a shotgun in his hand"
— 1971, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, “Smackwater Jack”, in Tapestry, Ode Records:
"An unusual custom is followed at Llangennith, when shotguns are fired at a wedding - to scare off evil spirits from the newlyweds."
— 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 258:
"We rode our bikes to it this morning—me, two of my brothers, four other neighborhood kids who were ready to be baptized, plus my father and some other neighborhood adults riding shotgun."
— 1993, Octavia Butler, chapter 2, in The Parable of the Sower:
"High as fuck, I light it up / Got pre-rolls for the whole month / She don't smoke but when I roll one / We shotgun the whole blunt"
— 2017, “Super Potent”, in Renaissance, performed by The Underachievers:
"An actual physical piece of paper shows that you're not just shotgunning out queries to every agent on the planet."
— 2009, Writing Fiction For Dummies, →ISBN:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
To hunt ducks in the marsh, the man carried a ____ that could shoot many small pellets.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The farmer carried a ____ to protect his livestock from the predators that had been seen near the barn.