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birdshot

British  
/ ˈbɜːdˌʃɒt /

noun

  1. small pellets designed for shooting birds

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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They fire cartridges, known as "birdshot", containing 200 to 400 small metal pellets.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Another hunting trip gone awry earned Cheney embarrassing headlines in 2006 when he accidentally shot and wounded a member of the party with a round of birdshot while quail hunting on a Texas ranch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2025

It was in these woods, just outside Glacier National Park, that the teenage boys learned to hunt, fish, dress a deer and pick birdshot from Hungarian partridges.

From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2023

Cheney, about 30 yards away, spotted a bird and fired — spraying 200 birdshot pellets at Mr. Whittington, who fell to the ground with wounds to his face, neck and chest.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 6, 2023

The birdshot up into the darkness and flew away.

From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo

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