Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

like a shot

Idioms  

  1. Very rapidly, as in When they asked for volunteers, he raised his hand like a shot. This expression alludes to the rapidity of gunfire. [Colloquial; late 1800s]

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.

I’m definitely trying to make strides for independents to be in the running for these major awards though because it’s like a shot in the arm!

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

White was on to him like a shot and touched down for a smash-and-grab that sickened England.

From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026

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

The question, asked quietly, rang out like a shot and created a silence in the room that was awkward and menacing.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

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.