one-shot

[wuhn-shot]

noun

1. a magazine, brochure, or the like that is published only one time, with no subsequent issues intended, usually containing articles and photographs devoted to one topical subject.

2. a single appearance by a performer, as in a play, motion picture, or television program.

3. a close-up camera shot of one person.

4. something occurring, done, used, etc., only once.

adjective

1. occurring, done, etc., only once.

2. achieved or accomplished with a single try.

   a one-shot solution.

Word History and Origins

Origin of one-shot¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

His chiseled body, stripped to his glistening skin, was what sold tickets and shot “Voodoo” to platinum status, courtesy of the “Untitled” video, a one-shot, minimalist wonder co-directed by Paul Hunter and D’Angelo’s manager Dominique Trenier.

Read more on Salon

It’s not a gimmick but a device — much as the one-shot production of “Adolescence” was not performative cleverness, but the right fit for the material — both in the sense of the child being the parent of the adult, and because it allows for a different, deeper sort of performance than one is liable to get from a first or a third grader.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

For drivers, we had gen AI, one-shot models, reasoning, moving to agentic autonomous agents, and physical AI.

Read more on Barron's

“And that’s really critical to making a one-shot feel like it is part of the language of the show and not a gimmick. For the audience, it acts as a remedy for our terrible attention spans by not cutting.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Scottie Scheffler battled the worst of the torrential downpours that battered Royal Portrush to shoot a commanding 64 and open a one-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick at the halfway stage of The Open.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• alone