From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshotgunshot‧gun /ˈʃɒtɡʌn $ ˈʃɑːt-/ noun [countable] PMWa long gun fired from the shoulder, that shoots many small round balls at one time, used especially for killing birds or animals The robbers were armed with sawn-off shotguns (=ones that have been made shorter, so the balls go in different directions).
Examples from the Corpus
shotgun• The arsonists also buried 32 shotgun cartridges in the pitch.• But the thug pulled out a shotgun, ordered the officer to lie on the ground and jumped into the car.• My first reaction was to scan the angry opposition mob for shotguns, pistols, slingshots, and M-80s.• Agents can also check out 12-gauge Remington shotguns.• One thing that might help George is the shotgun formation.• Rory fell on to his side; the shotgun roared and the rear of the couch blew open in a dusty horsehair explosion.• Wallace finally deployed state troopers, who used shotguns and indiscriminate beating to suppress the blacks.sawn-off shotguns• The family's ordeal began when the men burst into their Colchester bungalow, wearing balaclavas and brandishing sawn-off shotguns.• The court heard there were four men in the gang, all wearing balaclava helmets and armed with two sawn-off shotguns.• Two sawn-off shotguns were found nearby, and detectives are making an urgent appeal for information.• Five raiders armed with sawn-off shotguns, rifles and machetes stole more than £10,000 from Dry, part of the Factory empire. 