musket

noun

Definition of musketnext
as in flintlock
a type of long gun that was used by soldiers before the invention of the rifle

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of musket Those artifacts include musket balls found in the floorboards years ago during a renovation of Hollis Hall, a dormitory that soldiers used during fighting. — Ira Porter, Christian Science Monitor, 3 July 2026 The first battle is a bloodbath, with the men picked off by musket fire almost at random. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 1 July 2026 The new United States needed muskets, cannons, ammunition, uniforms, cloth, food and credit. — R. Grant Gilmore Iii, The Conversation, 30 June 2026 Three people dressed as soldiers lined up for review by Washington, then fired shots from long muskets. — Jennifer Ludden, NPR, 27 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for musket
Recent Examples of Synonyms for musket
  1. flintlock
  2. shotgun
  3. matchlock
  4. blunderbuss
  5. smoothbore
  6. harquebus
  7. culverin
  8. firearm
Noun
  • Smoke billowed from his flintlock and Rhoades didn’t see where the buck ran after the shot.
    — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Modern gun technologies are far, far more deadly than the one-shot flintlocks of the 18th century—shouldn’t that matter?
    — Robert J. Spitzer, Time, 6 June 2023
Definition of flintlock
Noun
  • The teacher bolted from the room as the shooter reached for his shotgun.
    — Russ Bynum, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Mark Middleton, 59, (May 2022) — died of a shotgun wound and hanging at the Heifer ranch in Perryville, Arkansas.
    — Julie K. Brown, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of shotgun
Noun
  • The Ottomans deployed field artillery and Janissary infantry armed with matchlocks in a defensive formation called tabur jangi, in which carts and wagons were used to build barricades on the battlefield.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
  • The birth of ‘gunpowder warfare’ can be traced back to the 15th century and the invention of the matchlock gun, the first mechanical firing device.
    — Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2026
Definition of matchlock
Noun
  • The blunderbuss of violations of the basic decorum and dignity of democracy have become such a daily matter that the increasingly familiar response is to sigh and surrender.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Trump would also stop treating the Europeans as enemies with his blunderbuss tariffs.
    — Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
Definition of blunderbuss
Noun
  • Challenger 3 drives demand The new facility will support Britain’s Challenger 3 tank program, which will use a 120mm smoothbore gun.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 22 Oct. 2026
  • At least three states — Hawaii, Ohio and North Dakota — treat a smoothbore musket the same as an AK-47 or AR-15.
    — Allen G. Breed, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Definition of smoothbore
Noun
  • To put that in perspective, when Beretta started making arquebus barrels, Michelangelo was still working in Rome.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Definition of harquebus
Noun
  • Researchers recently found medieval cannonballs from culverins, an early form of cannon, that were most likely used by Vlad the Impaler, during his bloody battle in 1461 with the Ottoman Turks.
    — Fox News, Fox News, 5 Aug. 2019
Definition of culverin
Noun
  • And unfortunately, there was another part of our party that didn't choose to be responsible with their firearm and fired too closely in my direction.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • According to the affidavit, William alleged that Don hit him on the right side of his head with the firearm.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of firearm

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muskegs
musket
musketeer
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Cite this Entry

“Musket.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/musket. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about musket

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