sharpshooter
Americannoun
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a person skilled in shooting, especially with a rifle.
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Military.
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a rating below expert and above marksman, assigned to one who has qualified with a specific score in rifle marksmanship.
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a person who has achieved such a rating.
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an athlete noted for having accurate aim in a sport, as basketball, hockey, archery, golf, etc.
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Slang. a person who engages in short-term business dealings with the purpose of making a large, quick profit without regard to scruple.
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a spade that has a very narrow blade, used as a garden or nursery tool.
noun
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sharpshooter Lexie Brown also re-signed as a free agent and the Sparks added Chinese national team guard Yang Liwei.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2023
He was the guy with the piercing eyes that could look right through you, that lived in Russia, and they called him the Sharpshooter at that time.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 3, 2023
Bird was authorized to wear the National Defense Service Medal and had earned the Marksman Rifle Qualification Badge and Sharpshooter Pistol Qualification Badge, the academy said.
From Washington Times • Jul. 18, 2022
Sharpshooter Davis Bertans did not play because of personal reasons.
From Washington Post • Apr. 16, 2021
On the table by the scorekeeper stood a golden bird, this year’s Sharpshooter Award.
From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
