like a shot
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I kind of knew that, but when she had that reaction, which was not feigned at all, that was like a shot of advice from the heart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
Asking a general-use chatbot for health help used to seem like a shot in the dark—just two years ago, a study found that ChatGPT could diagnose only 2 in 10 pediatric cases correctly.
From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2026
Its lawsuit, then, looks like a shot across the NLRB’s bow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2024
The term “lame duck” dates to 18th-century England, when it was first used to describe bankrupt businessmen who were rendered impotent like a shot game bird.
From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2022
The timid creature jumped like a shot rabbit and dropped the pocketbook.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
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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.