cheap shot
Americannoun
-
a covert, unsportsmanlike, and illegal act of deliberate roughness, especially in football, often calculated to injure an opponent.
-
any mean or unsportsmanlike remark or action, especially one directed at a defenseless or vulnerable person.
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.
Also I think it was a cheap shot to talk about injuries being his fault and he should muscle up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026
Indeed, one might ask whether everyone who is presuming that Smith did not follow department procedure is taking their own cheap shot.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2024
This in some ways can be seen as a cheap shot, easily levelled by any critic.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2024
“Big Red, sorry if I caught you with that cheap shot, baby,” Travis Kelce said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2024
“Natalie doesn’t like it either. She doesn’t like it one bit,” I say, although I know this is a cheap shot.
From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko
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.
