bar shot

noun

A double-headed shot, consisting of a bar, with a ball or half ball at each end; formerly used for destroying the masts or rigging in naval combat.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounbar shot (plural bar shot)
  1. historicalgovernmentA double-headed shot, consisting of a bar, with a ball or half ball at each end; formerly used for destroying the masts or rigging in naval combat.

    Bar shot and chain shot were primarily used during sea battles to destroy the sails and rigging of enemy vessels. The first mention of bar shot was by the Dutch in 1819.

    1987 January 1, Robert F. Marx, Shipwrecks in the Americas, Courier Corporation, →ISBN, page 104

Translations

Dutch boutkogel, schietbout
  • boutkogeldouble-headed shot connected by a bar
  • schietboutdouble-headed shot connected by a bar
Finnish tankokuula
  • tankokuuladouble-headed shot connected by a bar
French boulet ramé
  • boulet ramédouble-headed shot connected by a bar
German Stangenkugel
  • Stangenkugeldouble-headed shot connected by a bar
Portuguese palanqueta
  • palanquetadouble-headed shot connected by a bar
Russian книппель
  • книппель (knippelʹ)double-headed shot connected by a bar
Spanish palanqueta
  • palanquetadouble-headed shot connected by a bar
Swedish kedjelod
  • kedjeloddouble-headed shot connected by a bar
Ukrainian кніпель
  • кніпель (knipelʹ)double-headed shot connected by a bar
Cite this entry
APA

bar shot. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bar%20shot

MLA

“bar shot.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bar%20shot. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bar shot,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bar%20shot.

Source: bar shot on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.