sharpshooter

American  

[shahrp-shoo-ter] / ˈʃɑrpˌʃu tər /

noun

1. a person skilled in shooting, especially with a rifle.

2. Military.

   1. a rating below expert and above marksman, assigned to one who has qualified with a specific score in rifle marksmanship.

   2. a person who has achieved such a rating.

3. an athlete noted for having accurate aim in a sport, as basketball, hockey, archery, golf, etc.

4. Slang. a person who engages in short-term business dealings with the purpose of making a large, quick profit without regard to scruple.

5. a spade that has a very narrow blade, used as a garden or nursery tool.

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sharpshooter British  

/ ˈʃɑːpˌʃuːtə /

noun

1. an expert marksman, esp with a rifle

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Other Word Forms

• sharpshooting noun

Etymology

Origin of sharpshooter

1795–1805; sharp (i.e., sharp-eyed) + shooter; compare German Scharfschütz ( e ) expert marksman

Explanation

If you know someone who is a crack shot with her rifle at target practice, you can call her a sharpshooter. Annie Oakley, the fabled markswoman of the Wild West, is a perfect example of a sharpshooter. The sharp bit is a bit of a stretch, but it is presumed to refer to the marksperson's eye; sharpshooter comes to us as a direct translation of the German Scharfschütz. Today the terms sharpshooter, marksman, and sniper tend to be used interchangeably.

Example Sentences

And when Hoiberg recruited transfer sharpshooter Pryce Sandfort, he had an advantage: Sandfort had attended his basketball camps as a kid.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

During his final season of collegiate basketball in 2011-12, he was the most accurate sharpshooter in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics with a 48.1% three-point field goal percentage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Over the previous few nights, a “pest control contractor” — a robustly bearded sharpshooter equipped with an all-terrain vehicle and powerful spotlight — had been riding through the Arid Recovery reserve, shooting cats.

From New York Times • Apr. 16, 2024

Consider the glassy-winged sharpshooter, which spreads a disease that kills grapevines.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2024

The Zemeni sharpshooter was long-limbed, brown-skinned, constantly in motion.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Related Words

• marksman
• sniper