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 two words were like a shot of lightning.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
