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Shotgun

//ˈʃɒtɡʌn// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A gun which fires loads typically consisting of small metal balls, called shot, from a cartridge. countable, uncountable

    "The farmer's son brought home a Thanksgiving turkey from the wild that he killed with his shotgun."

  2. 2
    firearm that is a double-barreled smoothbore shoulder weapon for firing shot at short ranges wordnet
  3. 3
    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. countable, slang, uncountable

    "I call shotgun!"

  4. 4
    A one-story dwelling with no hallways or corridors, with the rooms arranged in a straight line. Southern-US, US, countable, especially, uncountable

    "Elvis Presley was born in a two-bedroom shotgun in Tupelo, Mississippi."

  5. 5
    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. countable, uncountable
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  1. 6
    Relating to shotguns, either in a present or past sense. attributive, countable, uncountable

    "shotgun cartridges"

  2. 7
    Relating to the threat of force or dubious means. attributive, countable, uncountable

    "shotgun wedding"

  3. 8
    Relating to the use of numerous, diverse or indiscriminate means to achieve a particular result. attributive, countable, uncountable

    "shotgun marketing"

Verb
  1. 1
    To inhale from a pipe or other smoking device, followed shortly by an exhalation into someone else’s mouth. slang

    "High as fuck, I light it up / Got pre-rolls for the whole month / She don't smoke but when I roll one / We shotgun the whole blunt"

  2. 2
    To verbally lay claim to (something) informal, transitive

    "I got a day off because I shotgunned it."

  3. 3
    To hit the ball directly back at the pitcher. transitive
  4. 4
    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. US, slang
  5. 5
    To send out many (requests, answers to a question, etc), especially in the hope that one obtains a positive result (i.e. reveals useful information, is correct, etc), in the manner of a shotgun firing many balls of shot such that one may hit a target. US, slang

    "An actual physical piece of paper shows that you're not just shotgunning out queries to every agent on the planet."

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  1. 6
    To employ the technique of shotgun debugging. slang

    "Understand the problem before fixing it. About the only scenario where shotgunning is useful is if there is a shorted IC and you cannot tell which one it is."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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

Etymology 2

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

See also for "shotgun"

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