musket
Americannoun
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a heavy, large-caliber smoothbore gun for infantry soldiers, introduced in the 16th century: the predecessor of the modern rifle.
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the male sparrow hawk, Accipiter nisus.
noun
Etymology
Origin of musket
1580–90; < Middle French mousquet < Italian moschetto crossbow arrow, later musket, originally kind of hawk, equivalent to mosch ( a ) fly (< Latin musca ) + -etto -et
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The couple are seen side by side in period costume, as Anna hands John a cartridge to reload his musket.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
Among the dozens and dozens of weapons hanging on the wall for sale are double barrel black powder shotguns – akin to a musket – and a few "they-don't-make-these-anymore" Winchester rifles from the 1800s.
From BBC • Dec. 23, 2024
I recently discovered that if you walk around New York City while carrying an 18th-century musket, you get a lot of questions.
From Slate • May 8, 2024
There could be everyday military items like uniform buttons or musket balls.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 26, 2023
“My only regret,” I replied, “is that he left behind a musket rather than a rifle, which would have been a greater prize.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
