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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.

musket British  
/ ˈmʌskɪt /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The couple are seen side by side in period costume, as Anna hands John a cartridge to reload his musket.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

A musket ball is a type of ammunition used in muskets, which are long-barrelled, muzzle-loaded firearms that were commonly used from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

From BBC • Jul. 23, 2024

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

But Harvick might have to surrender his musket.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 16, 2023

“The first time I fired a musket, I almost blew my hand off.”

From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.