blunderbuss

[ bluhn-der-buhs ]
See synonyms for blunderbuss on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a short musket of wide bore with expanded muzzle to scatter shot, bullets, or slugs at close range.

  2. an insensitive, blundering person.

Origin of blunderbuss

1
1645–55; <Dutch donderbus (equivalent to donderthunder + bus gun, box1) with donder replaced by blunder. See harquebus

Words 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 Moodie
  • And with the first flash of light the foremost guard ran halfway up the steep embankment and leveled his blunderbuss.

    Seeing Things at Night | Heywood Broun
  • So I bestowed a friendly nod on the man with the blunderbuss, and inquired, with a smile, whether I had disturbed his nap.

    Carmen | Prosper Merimee
  • For 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

blunderbuss

/ (ˈblʌndəˌbʌs) /


noun
  1. an obsolete short musket with large bore and flared muzzle, used to scatter shot at short range

  2. informal a clumsy unsubtle person

Origin of blunderbuss

1
C17: changed (through the influence of blunder) from Dutch donderbus; from donder thunder + obsolete bus gun

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