blunderbuss
a short musket of wide bore with expanded muzzle to scatter shot, bullets, or slugs at close range.
an insensitive, blundering person.
Origin of blunderbuss
1Words Nearby blunderbuss
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use blunderbuss in a sentence
I keep a good blunderbuss loaded over the door, an' thieves would na' find it an easy job to get in through these iron bars.
The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie"It's a pity to keep a useful weapon only for show," returned Dolly, eyeing the old blunderbuss with looks of regret.
The World Before Them | Susanna MoodieAnd with the first flash of light the foremost guard ran halfway up the steep embankment and leveled his blunderbuss.
Seeing Things at Night | Heywood BrounSo I bestowed a friendly nod on the man with the blunderbuss, and inquired, with a smile, whether I had disturbed his nap.
Carmen | Prosper MerimeeFor he had turned his horse loose, and the blunderbuss, which he had been holding horizontally, was now dropped earthward.
Carmen | Prosper Merimee
British Dictionary definitions for blunderbuss
/ (ˈblʌndəˌbʌs) /
an obsolete short musket with large bore and flared muzzle, used to scatter shot at short range
informal a clumsy unsubtle person
Origin of blunderbuss
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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