shotgun
shot·gun/ˈʃɒtɡʌn/noun, verb
shotgun is spelled S-H-O-T-G-U-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables (shot·gun). It appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shotgun means “A gun which fires loads typically consisting of small metal balls, called shot, from a cartridge” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shotgun is shotguns.
How many letters and syllables are in shotgun?
| Letters | 7: S-H-O-T-G-U-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: shot·gun |
| In writing | 6.5 times per million words; the 9,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is shotgun?
Shotgun appears 6.5 times per million words in written English, the 9,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce shotgun?
- UK /ˈʃɒtɡʌn/
- UK [ˈʃʰɒtɡʌn]
- Australia /ˈʃɔtɡɐ̞n/
Shotgun has 2 syllables, split shot·gun in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-shotgun.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with shotgun
Also written: shot-gun (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with shotgun?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as shotgun (/ɒtɡʌn/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: gunshot.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of shotgun
- shotguns plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- shot-gun
- shotgunning participle, present
- shotgunned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shotgun mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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.
- 2
slangThe 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!
- 3
USA 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.
- 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
Relating to shotguns, either in a present or past sense.
shotgun cartridges
- 6
Relating to the threat of force or dubious means.
shotgun wedding
- 7
Relating to the use of numerous, diverse or indiscriminate means to achieve a particular result.
shotgun marketing
verb
- 1
slangTo inhale from a pipe or other smoking device, followed shortly by an exhalation into someone else’s mouth.
- 2
informalTo verbally lay claim to (something)
I got a day off because I shotgunned it.
- 3
To hit the ball directly back at the pitcher.
- 4
USslangTo 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.
- 5
USslangTo 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.
- 6
slangTo employ the technique of shotgun debugging.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shotgun in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fusil, fusil de chasse , place du mort |
| German | Flinte, Schrotflinte , Beifahrersitz |
| Portuguese | caçadeira, espingarda, escopeta , banco do carona, banco da frente |
| Spanish | escopeta |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does shotgun come from?
From shot + gun. Front passenger seat sense comes from ride shotgun.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).