shotgun

[shot-guhn] /ˈʃɒtˌgʌn/
noun
1.
a smoothbore gun for firing small shot to kill birds and small quadrupeds, though often used with buckshot to kill larger animals.
2.
Football. an offensive formation, designed primarily for passing situations, in which the backfield is spread out with the quarterback positioned a few yards behind the center and the other backs, as potential pass receivers, positioned as slotbacks or flankers.
adjective
3.
of, pertaining to, used in, or carried out with a shotgun:
a shotgun murder; shotgun pellets.
4.
covering a wide area in an irregularly effective manner without concern for details or particulars; tending to be all-inclusive, nonselective, and haphazard; indiscriminate in choice and indifferent to specific results:
He favored the shotgun approach in his political attacks.
5.
seeking a desired result through the use or inclusion of a wide variety of elements.
6.
having all the rooms opening one into the next in a line from front to back:
shotgun apartment; shotgun cottage.
7.
gained or characterized by coercive methods.
verb (used with object), shotgunned, shotgunning.
8.
to fire a shotgun at.
Idioms
9.
ride shotgun,
  1. (formerly) to ride atop a stagecoach as a shotgun-bearing guard.
  2. to protect or keep a watchful eye on something:
    riding shotgun over the nation's economy.
Origin
1770-80, Americanism; shot1 + gun1
Examples from the web for shotgun
  • It was clear to the birds that if two went into the barn and one came out, somebody was still inside with the shotgun.
  • When he's done riding shotgun, he takes a nap in the back.
  • It reminded me of using a shotgun to open a can of peaches.
  • My question was whether this would be a shotgun approach.
  • For example, they seem to have understood the range of a shotgun.
  • But it's been a shotgun affair, more lucky than accurate.
  • The one who hid a shotgun in a guitar case and three handguns in his coat.
  • Some security guy at the airport actually joked it was a shotgun.
  • It helps to make choices about when to smile and keep quiet and when to let people have it with both barrels of the shotgun.
  • These dogs were showing no signs of aggression, but might have met up with a over zealous shotgun due to their powerful presence.
British Dictionary definitions for shotgun

shotgun

/ˈʃɒtˌɡʌn/
noun
1.
  1. a shoulder firearm with unrifled bore designed for the discharge of small shot at short range and used mainly for hunting small game
  2. (as modifier): shotgun fire
2.
(American football) an offensive formation in which the quarterback lines up for a snap unusually far behind the line of scrimmage
adjective
3.
(mainly US) involving coercion or duress: a shotgun merger
4.
(mainly US) involving or relying on speculative suggestions, etc: a shotgun therapy
verb -guns, -gunning, -gunned
5.
(transitive) (US) to shoot or threaten with or as if with a shotgun
Word Origin and History for shotgun
n.

1821, American English, from shot (n.) in the sense of "lead in small pellets" (1770) + gun (n.). As distinguished from a rifle, which fires bullets. Shotgun wedding first attested 1903, American English.

Slang definitions & phrases for shotgun

shotgun 1

interjection

I am going to ride in the front passenger seat!: yelled Shotgun for the test drive

modifier

(also blunderbuss) Very diffuse and general; indis-criminate; done in haste; scattergun: I hate it when the administrators make shotgun accusations/ But this is a blunderbuss technique (1930s+)

noun
  1. A machine gun or other rapid-fire gun (WWII Army)
  2. A type of pipe used for smoking marijuana; bong (1960s+ Narcotics)
  3. n offensive formation in which the quarterback lines up well behind instead of immediately behind the center (1966+ Football)
Related Terms

ride shotgun, sit shotgun


shotgun 2

noun

A matchmaker; a marriage broker

[1950s+; fr Yiddish shadchen, which is pronounced something like shotgun; perhaps reinforced by the notion of a shotgun wedding]


Idioms and Phrases with shotgun

shotgun

In addition to the idiom beginning with shotgun also see: ride shotgun