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musket

American  
[muhs-kit] / ˈmʌs kɪt /

noun

  1. a heavy, large-caliber smoothbore gun for infantry soldiers, introduced in the 16th century: the predecessor of the modern rifle.

  2. the male sparrow hawk, Accipiter nisus.

musket British  
/ ˈmʌskɪt /

noun

  1. a long-barrelled muzzle-loading shoulder gun used between the 16th and 18th centuries by infantry soldiers

"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

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

Artefacts recovered from the battlefield in recent years have included lead musket balls and a shoe buckle believed to have belonged to a clan chief.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2025

Questions aside, a musket can come in handy.

From Slate • May 8, 2024

But Harvick might have to surrender his musket.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 16, 2023

Montez in a blue army uniform, trudging along toward battle with an old rifled musket, shoulders slumped.

From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older

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.