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shotgun

[shot-guhn]
See more synonyms for shotgun on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a smoothbore gun for firing small shots 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.
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adjective
  1. of, pertaining to, used in, or carried out with a shotgun: a shotgun murder; shotgun pellets.
  2. 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.
  3. seeking a desired result through the use or inclusion of a wide variety of elements.
  4. having all the rooms opening one into the next in a line from front to back: shotgun apartment; shotgun cottage.
  5. gained or characterized by coercive methods.
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verb (used with object), shot·gunned, shot·gun·ning.
  1. to fire a shotgun at.
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Idioms
  1. 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.
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Origin of shotgun

An Americanism dating back to 1770–80; shot1 + gun1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for ride shotgun

shotgun

noun
    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
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adjective
  1. mainly US involving coercion or duressa shotgun merger
  2. mainly US involving or relying on speculative suggestions, etca shotgun therapy
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verb -guns, -gunning or -gunned
  1. (tr) US to shoot or threaten with or as if with a shotgun
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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

Word Origin and History for ride shotgun

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with ride shotgun

ride shotgun

Guard someone or something while in transit, as in The reporter found himself in the odd position of riding shotgun for an accused mobster. This term alludes to the armed defender of a stagecoach who sat beside the driver to protect against marauders and bandits. Later it was transferred to anyone riding in the front passenger seat of a motor vehicle, as well as to the more general function of protection. [Mid-1900s]

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shotgun

In addition to the idiom beginning with shotgun

, also see

  • ride shotgun

.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.