shotgun
n. uncountablen. the front passenger seat of a car. You shout this word to claim that seat before your friends do.
n. the front passenger seat of a vehicle. Informal in register; frequently used as an interjection to assert a claim to the seat.
I'm sitting in the front because I called shotgun.
As the group walked toward the car, Sarah shouted shotgun to ensure she wouldn't have to sit in the cramped back seat.
The unspoken rules of the road dictate that the first person to audibly claim shotgun earns the right to control the radio and navigate for the duration of the journey.
From shot + gun. Front passenger seat sense comes from ride shotgun.
Commonly used in the phrase 'to call shotgun'.
I want to sit in the shotgunI want to sit shotgunWhen referring to the seat, the word is used as an object or adverbial without an article; 'in the shotgun' is not standard.
- 01
ride shotgun
To accompany the driver of a vehicle on a journey as an armed escort (originally with a shotgun); (by extension) to accompany someone in order to assist and protect.
- 02
shotgun approach
An approach in which the subject is indiscriminate and haphazard, using breadth, spread, or quantity in lieu of accuracy, planning, etc.
- 03
shotgun wedding
A wedding in which the bride is already pregnant.