sharpshooter
Americannoun
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a person skilled in shooting, especially with a rifle.
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Military.
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a rating below expert and above marksman, assigned to one who has qualified with a specific score in rifle marksmanship.
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a person who has achieved such a rating.
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an athlete noted for having accurate aim in a sport, as basketball, hockey, archery, golf, etc.
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Slang. a person who engages in short-term business dealings with the purpose of making a large, quick profit without regard to scruple.
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a spade that has a very narrow blade, used as a garden or nursery tool.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sharpshooter
1795–1805; sharp (i.e., sharp-eyed) + shooter; compare German Scharfschütz ( e ) expert marksman
Explanation
If you know someone who is a crack shot with her rifle at target practice, you can call her a sharpshooter. Annie Oakley, the fabled markswoman of the Wild West, is a perfect example of a sharpshooter. The sharp bit is a bit of a stretch, but it is presumed to refer to the marksperson's eye; sharpshooter comes to us as a direct translation of the German Scharfschütz. Today the terms sharpshooter, marksman, and sniper tend to be used interchangeably.
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.
Sharpshooter Lexie Brown also re-signed as a free agent and the Sparks added Chinese national team guard Yang Liwei.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2023
Bird was authorized to wear the National Defense Service Medal and had earned the Marksman Rifle Qualification Badge and Sharpshooter Pistol Qualification Badge, the academy said.
From Washington Times • Jul. 18, 2022
Sharpshooter Davis Bertans has yet to regain his form and shot 2 for 7 from three-point range for six points in 19 minutes.
From Washington Post • Feb. 7, 2021
Then there was Matt Locke, a.k.a. the Conservative Sharpshooter, a talk-radio and podcast host who had traveled from Texas to spend an evening listening to Mr. Trump.
From New York Times • Feb. 3, 2020
On the table by the scorekeeper stood a golden bird, this year’s Sharpshooter Award.
From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
