musket

American  

[muhs-kit] / ˈmʌs kɪt /

noun

1. a heavy, large-caliber smoothbore gun for infantry soldiers, introduced in the 16th century: the predecessor of the modern rifle.

2. the male sparrow hawk, Accipiter nisus.

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musket British  

/ ˈmʌskɪt /

noun

1. a long-barrelled muzzle-loading shoulder gun used between the 16th and 18th centuries by infantry soldiers

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Etymology

Origin of musket

1580–90; < Middle French mousquet < Italian moschetto crossbow arrow, later musket, originally kind of hawk, equivalent to mosch ( a ) fly (< Latin musca ) + -etto -et

Example Sentences

The Spaniard brought only 11 ships, some 450 men, 16 horses and a modest collection of cannons, crossbows and arquebuses, precursors to the musket.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

I would not have walked into a coffee shop with an AR-15 and expected the reactions I got for walking in with a musket, for one thing.

From Slate • May 8, 2024

For decades speculation has been rife about whether the pillars do actually bear the scars of the musket balls from nearly two hundred years ago.

From BBC • Nov. 12, 2023

Would there be any musket balls, messages from students, or clues to historical mysteries?

From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2023

I am disappointed that I won’t be learning to use a musket.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

Related Words

• carbine
• rifle