blunderbuss

/ˈblʌn.dəˌbʌs/

//ˈblʌn.dəˌbʌs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"blunderbuss" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“blunderbuss” is uncommon English (frequency #84,036 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,036
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An old style of muzzleloading firearm and early form of shotgun with a distinctive short, large caliber barrel that is flared at the muzzle, therefore able to fire scattered quantities of nails, st...

Corpus desk

Index EN-blunderbuss · blunderbuss · English

blunderbuss · rank #84,036 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,036
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH blithering

Nearest frequency peer: blithering (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “blunderbuss”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “blunderbuss” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for blunderbuss
PropertyValue
Headwordblunderbuss
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈblʌn.dəˌbʌs/
Letters11
Frequency rank#84,036
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “blunderbuss” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).blunderbussfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “blithering” (#84,035), “bobbitt” (#84,037), “Boddy” (#84,038). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “blunderbuss” is #84,036. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

blunderbuss is uncommon English at frequency #84,036 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈblʌn.dəˌbʌs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An old style of muzzleloading firearm and early form of shotgun with a distinctive short, large caliber barrel that is flared at the muzzle, therefore able to fire scattered quantities of nails, st...".

No generated misspelling entries exist for blunderbuss in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Dutch donderbus (“blunderbuss”, literally “thunder gun”), which was altered under the influence of blunder. The correct English form is blunderbuss, spelled B-L-U-N-D-E-R-B-U-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    An old style of muzzleloading firearm and early form of shotgun with a distinctive short, large caliber barrel that is flared at the muzzle, therefore able to fire scattered quantities of nails, stones, shot, etc. at short range.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how blunderbuss appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. We fired the blunderbuss several times by way of salute, and soon after landed at the bank near the village of the Mahahas, or Shoe Indians, and were received by a crowd of people, who came to welcome our return.
  2. One of the most picturesque of the old flintlock guns is the blunderbuss, which was often carried by coach guards for protection against highwaymen.

Etymology

From Dutch donderbus (“blunderbuss”, literally “thunder gun”), which was altered under the influence of blunder.

This word in other languages

trabuco(Español)tromblon(Français)Donnerbüchse(Deutsch)bacamarte(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "blunderbuss"?
"blunderbuss" is spelled B-L-U-N-D-E-R-B-U-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈblʌn.dəˌbʌs/.
What does "blunderbuss" mean?
As a noun, "blunderbuss" means: An old style of muzzleloading firearm and early form of shotgun with a distinctive short, large caliber barrel that is flared at the muzzle, therefore able to fire scattered quantities of nails, st...
How do you pronounce "blunderbuss"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blunderbuss" is /ˈblʌn.dəˌbʌs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "blunderbuss"?
From Dutch donderbus (“blunderbuss”, literally “thunder gun”), which was altered under the influence of blunder. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "blunderbuss", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cannibalize#84,063Castiglione#84,074analogously#83,966Constantius#84,115

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list