Shotgun

Alternative forms

• shot-gun

Origin

From shot + gun. Front passenger seat sense comes from ride shotgun.

Full definition of shotgun

Noun

1. A gun which fires loads typically consisting of small metal balls, called shot, from a cartridge.
2. (slang) The front passenger seat in a vehicle, next to the driver; so called because the position of the shotgun-armed guard on a horse-drawn stage-coach, wagon train, or gold transport was next to the driver on a forward-mounted bench seat.I call shotgun! (I claim the right to sit in the passenger seat.)
3. (US) A one-story dwelling with no hallways or corridors, with the rooms arranged in a straight line. Mostly heard in the southern United States.Elvis Presley was born in a two-bedroom shotgun in Tupelo, Mississippi.
4. (American football) A play formation in which the quarterback is a few feet behind the snapper when the ball is hiked, ideally allowing for an easier pass play.

Derived terms

• double-barrelled shotgun
• ride shotgun
• sawn-off shotgun
  sawed-off shotgun
• shotgun sequencing
• shotgun shack
• shotgun wedding
• shotty

Verb

1. (slang, smoking) To inhale from a pipe or other smoking device, followed shortly by an exhalation into someone else’s mouth.
2. (transitive, informal) To verbally lay claim to (something)I got a day off because I shotgunned it.
3. (transitive, baseball) To hit the ball directly back at the pitcher.
4. (US, slang) To rapidly drink a beverage from a can by making a hole in the bottom of the can, placing the hole above one's mouth, and opening the top.

Adjective

1. Of or relating to a shotgun.The ground was littered with shotgun shells.
2. Occurring as a result of the threat of force.a shotgun wedding
3. Utilizing numerous or highly diverse means to achieve a particular result.

Anagrams

• gunshot
• noughts