a horse, team, etc., that has little chance of winning and carries long odds.
an attempt or undertaking that offers much but in which there is little chance for success.
Movies, Television. a camera shot taken at a relatively great distance from the subject and permitting a broad view of a scene.Compare closeup(def 2), medium shot.
Idioms
by a long shot, by any means; by a measurable degree: They haven't finished by a long shot.
in the figurative sense of "something unlikely," 1867, from long (adj.) + shot (n.). The notion is of a shot at a target from a great distance, thus difficult to make. Cinematic sense is from 1922.
