noun
blunderbuss
BLUN-der-bus/ˈblʌndərbʌs/
An old short-barreled firearm that scatters its shot widely.
The museum displays a blunderbuss with a short barrel and flared muzzle.
Etymology
The Dutch components make this a ‘thunder-gun,’ an image of the firearm's loud report. The gun component originally meant a box or tube, supplying a concrete image of its barrel.
In context
general washington had actually had a lot of men armed with dragon uh flintlock blunderbuss pistols and blunderbuss carbines
More examples
- The film's pirate carries an old blunderbuss.
- The report criticizes the policy's blunderbuss approach to enforcement.
- His tactless intervention made him seem a complete blunderbuss.
Forms
blunderbuss · blunderbusses
Similar words
- musket
- Usually a longer firearm without the same wide-shot purpose.
- scattergun
- A firearm or broad approach that disperses its effect widely.