1. Plural of arquebus; portable firearms with long barrels, used by infantry soldiers from the 15th to 17th centuries.
Usage: historical; also spelled 'harquebuses'

Examples

• The Spanish soldiers carried arquebuses into battle during the conquest of the Americas.
• Arquebuses gradually replaced crossbows as the primary ranged weapon in European armies.
• The heavy arquebuses required a forked rest to steady them while firing.
• Soldiers armed with arquebuses formed the backbone of 16th-century infantry units.
• The arquebus was slower to reload than a crossbow but delivered greater firepower.