Meaning & use
buckshot
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
Small lead pellets fired in a group from a shotgun, larger than birdshot but smaller than a slug.
Grammar: No plural form; use it with a singular verb: 'Buckshot was found at the scene.'
Patterns
- a load of buckshot
- fire buckshot at something
- be hit by buckshot
The farmer kept a gun loaded with buckshot for foxes.
The vet removed several pieces of buckshot from the dog's leg.
Police said the damage was caused by buckshot, not a single bullet.
nouncountable
A shotgun shell or cartridge containing such pellets.
Grammar: Can be counted as a whole shell: 'two buckshots' means two cartridges.
Patterns
- load a buckshot
- buy buckshots
He loaded a buckshot into the old double-barrelled gun.
The store sells birdshot and buckshots for different kinds of game.
Common combinations
- a load of buckshot
- The hunter poured a load of buckshot into the barrel.
- fire buckshot
- The guard fired buckshot into the air to scare them off.
- buckshot wound
- The patient was treated for a buckshot wound to the shoulder.
- buckshot pattern
- At that distance the buckshot pattern spreads quite wide.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- buckskin noun
- Soft leather made from deerskin, unrelated in meaning but similar in sound.
Commonly confused: buckshot or birdshot? buckshot or buck?
buckshot vs birdshot
Birdshot is much smaller and is used for birds; buckshot is larger and used for bigger animals or self-defense.
buckshot vs buck
Buck is a male deer or a dollar; buckshot is ammunition, though both start with 'buck'.
Practice
The hunter loaded his shotgun with ______ to bring down the deer.
Choose one answer.
'Buckshot' is uncountable, so it is used without an article in this general sense. 'A buckshot' and 'buckshots' would suggest a single pellet or cartridge, which is not what the sentence means.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “buckshot”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.