shot-gun

Noun

shotgun (countable and uncountable, plural shotguns)

1. A gun which fires loads typically consisting of small metal balls, called shot, from a cartridge.
   • The farmer's son brought home a Thanksgiving turkey from the wild that he killed with his shotgun.

   Synonyms:

   scattergun

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. Can also be used in situations of claiming other resources such as bedrooms.
   • I call shotgun!

   Synonyms:

   death seat

3. (Southern US, US, especially) A one-story dwelling with no hallways or corridors, with the rooms arranged in a straight line.
   • Elvis Presley was born in a two-bedroom shotgun in Tupelo, Mississippi.

   Synonyms:

   shotgun house, shotgun shack

4. An offensive formation in which the quarterback receives the snap at a distance behind the center, often with a running back set to one or both sides of him.
5. (attributive) Relating to shotguns, either in a present or past sense.
   • shotgun cartridges
6. (attributive) Relating to the threat of force or dubious means.
   • shotgun wedding

See all 13 meanings of shotgun