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blunderbuss
noun
blun·der·buss
ˈblən-dər-ˌbəs 
1
: a muzzle-loading firearm with a short barrel and flaring muzzle to facilitate loading
2
: a blundering person
Synonyms
Examples of blunderbuss in a Sentence
leave it to that blunderbuss to bungle a job that a child could do
Recent Examples on the Web
Cost cutting ‘blunderbuss’ DOGE is part of a long line of presidential efforts to take an ax to the administrative state.
—
Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
Colman is Edith Swan, a middle-aged church lady who still lives with her blunderbuss of a father (Timothy Spall) and mild-mannered mother (Gemma Jones) in a working-class neighborhood of Littlehampton.
—Ty Burr, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
The State Department, in its blunderbuss way, wanted to open up a kind of détente with the citizens of Communist Eastern Europe.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Mar. 2023
As a result, all polls (even those with glittering brand names) should be regarded as closer to a blunderbuss than a sharpshooter’s rifle.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 25 Oct. 2022
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Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
Colman is Edith Swan, a middle-aged church lady who still lives with her blunderbuss of a father (Timothy Spall) and mild-mannered mother (Gemma Jones) in a working-class neighborhood of Littlehampton.
—Ty Burr, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
The State Department, in its blunderbuss way, wanted to open up a kind of détente with the citizens of Communist Eastern Europe.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Mar. 2023
As a result, all polls (even those with glittering brand names) should be regarded as closer to a blunderbuss than a sharpshooter’s rifle.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 25 Oct. 2022
See all Example Sentences for blunderbuss
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Cite this Entry
“Blunderbuss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blunderbuss. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
blunderbuss
noun
blun·der·buss
ˈblən-dər-ˌbəs
: a muzzle-loader with a short barrel and cone-shaped muzzle to make loading easier
Etymology
derived from an obsolete Dutch word donderbus, literally, "thundergun"
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