shoot
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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shoots,
present (3rd person singular)
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shot,
past participle, past
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shooting
present participle
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to hit, wound, damage, kill, or destroy with a missile discharged from a weapon.
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to execute or put to death with a bullet.
to be shot at sunrise.
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to send forth or discharge (a missile) from a weapon.
to shoot a bullet.
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to discharge (a weapon).
to shoot a gun.
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to send forth (words, ideas, etc.) rapidly.
to shoot questions at someone.
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The volcano shot lava high into the air.
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to direct suddenly or swiftly.
Shoot the spotlight on the doorway. He shot a smile at his wife.
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to move suddenly; send swiftly along.
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to go over (country) in hunting game.
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to pass rapidly through, over, down, etc..
to shoot rapids.
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to emit (a ray or rays, as of light) suddenly, briefly, or intermittently.
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to variegate by threads, streaks, etc., of another color.
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to cause to extend or project.
He shot out his arm and grabbed the ball.
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to discharge or empty, as down a chute.
Do not shoot rubbish here!
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Sports.
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to throw, kick, or otherwise propel (a ball, puck, etc.), as at a goal or teammate.
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to score (a goal, points, etc.) by propelling the ball, puck, etc.
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Games. to propel (a marble) from the crook or first knuckle of the forefinger by flicking with the thumb.
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(in dice games)
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to throw (the dice or a specific number).
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to wager or offer to bet (a sum of money).
I'll shoot ten bucks.
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Photography. to photograph or film.
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to put forth (buds, branches, etc.), as a plant.
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to slide (a bolt or the like) into or out of its fastening.
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to pull (one's cuffs) abruptly toward one's hands.
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Golf. to make a final score of (so many strokes).
He shot a 73 on the first 18 holes of the tournament.
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to take the altitude of (a heavenly body).
to shoot the sun.
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to detonate; cause to explode, as a charge of explosives.
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Aeronautics. to practice (a maneuver) by repetition.
to shoot landings.
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Slang. to inject (an addictive drug) intravenously.
verb (used without object)
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shoots,
present (3rd person singular)
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shot,
past participle, past
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shooting
present participle
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to send forth missiles from a bow, firearm, or the like.
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to be discharged, as a firearm.
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to hunt with a gun for sport.
He fishes, but he doesn't shoot.
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to move or pass suddenly or swiftly; spurt.
The car shot ahead and was soon out of sight.
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Nautical. to acquire momentum and coast into the wind, as a sailboat in a confined area.
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to grow forth from the ground, as a stem.
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to put forth buds or shoots, as a plant; germinate.
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Photography. to photograph.
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Movies. to film or begin to film a scene or movie.
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to extend; jut.
a cape shooting out into the sea.
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Sports, Games.
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to propel a ball, puck, etc., at a goal, basket, pocket, etc., or in a specific direction.
He shot for the green with a five iron.
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to propel a ball in a specific way.
The center shoots left-handed.
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to be felt by or flow through or permeate the body.
Pain shot through his injured arm. Chills shot up and down her spine.
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to carry by force of discharge or momentum.
The missile left its pad and shot thousands of miles into space.
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Informal. to begin, especially to begin to talk.
I want to hear your complaint, so shoot!
noun
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shoots
plural
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the act of shooting with a bow, firearm, etc.
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Chiefly British. a hunting trip or expedition.
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a match or contest at shooting.
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a growing or sprouting, as of a plant.
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a new or young growth that shoots off from some portion of a plant.
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the amount of such growth.
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a young branch, stem, twig, or the like.
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a sprout that is not three feet high.
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a chute.
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Rocketry. the launching of a missile.
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Informal. a photographic assignment or session, as for a feature film or a television commercial.
The actress is away on a shoot.
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Rowing. the interval between strokes.
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Mining.
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a small tunnel branching off from a larger tunnel.
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a narrow vein of ore.
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verb phrase
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shoot up
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to grow rapidly or suddenly.
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Informal. to damage or harass by reckless shooting.
cowboys shooting up the town.
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to wound by shooting.
He shot up the lion, but his guide killed it.
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Slang. to inject an addictive drug intravenously.
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shoot for / at to attempt to obtain or accomplish; strive toward.
He is shooting for a higher production level.
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shoot down
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to cause to fall by hitting with a shot.
They shot down several ducks.
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Informal. to disparage, reject, or expose as false or inadequate; debunk.
to shoot down a popular theory.
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idioms
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shoot the bull. bull.
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shoot one's bolt. bolt.
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shoot off one's mouth / face,
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to talk indiscreetly, especially to reveal confidences, make thoughtless remarks, etc.
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to exaggerate.
He likes to shoot off his mouth about what a great guy he is.
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shoot the breeze. breeze.
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shoot one's wad. wad.
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shoot from the hip, to act or speak without due consideration or deliberation.
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shoot the works. work.
interjection
verb
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(tr) to hit, wound, damage, or kill with a missile discharged from a weapon
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to discharge (a missile or missiles) from a weapon
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to fire (a weapon) or (of a weapon) to be fired
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to send out or be sent out as if from a weapon
he shot questions at her
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(intr) to move very rapidly; dart
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(tr) to slide or push into or out of a fastening
to shoot a bolt
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to emit (a ray of light) or (of a ray of light) to be emitted
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(tr) to go or pass quickly over or through
to shoot rapids
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(intr) to hunt game with a gun for sport
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(tr) to pass over (an area) in hunting game
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to extend or cause to extend; project
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(tr) to discharge down or as if down a chute
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(intr) (of a plant) to produce (buds, branches, etc)
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(intr) (of a seed) to germinate
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to photograph or record (a sequence, subject, etc)
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(tr; usually passive) to variegate or streak, as with colour
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sport to hit or propel (the ball, etc) towards the goal
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(tr) sport to score (points, strokes, etc)
he shot 72 on the first round
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(tr) to plane (a board) to produce a straight edge
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(tr) mining to detonate
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(tr) to measure the altitude of (a celestial body)
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slang (often foll by up) to inject (someone, esp oneself) with (a drug, esp heroin)
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See line 1
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to speak bluntly or impulsively without concern for the consequences
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See bolt 1
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informal to damage one's own cause inadvertently
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slang
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to talk indiscreetly
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to boast or exaggerate
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See breeze 1
noun
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the act of shooting
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the action or motion of something that is shot
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the first aerial part of a plant to develop from a germinating seed
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any new growth of a plant, such as a bud, young branch, etc
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a meeting or party organized for hunting game with guns
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an area or series of coverts and woods where game can be hunted with guns
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a steep descent in a stream; rapid
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informal a photographic assignment
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geology mining a narrow workable vein of ore
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obsolete the reach of a shot
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slang everything
interjection
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shootsimple
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shootssimple
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have shotperfect
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has shotperfect
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am shootingprogressive
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are shootingprogressive
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is shootingprogressive
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have been shootingperfect progressive
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has been shootingperfect progressive
Past
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shotsimple
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had shotperfect
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was shootingprogressive
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were shootingprogressive
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had been shootingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shoot1
First recorded before 900; Middle English verb sheten, sheeten, shoten, Old English scēotan; cognate with Old Frisian skiata, Dutch schieten, Old High German skiozan, German schiessen, Old Norse skjōta; akin to shot 1
Origin of shoot2
An Americanism first recorded in 1890–95; alteration of shit, conformed to shoot 1
Vocabulary lists containing shoot
Loaded Words from the Gun Violence Debate
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Growth, Development and Reproduction of Organisms - Middle School
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Growth, Development and Reproduction of Organisms - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
Caicedo’s raw, colloquial style was ahead of its time, a herald of the rebellion against magical realism that would transform Latin American literature and shoot writers like Roberto Bolaño to fame two decades later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
After that, I’ll shoot over to the west, get to Volcano Tea House on Sawtelle for some almond milk tea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
In a recent cover shoot for Architectural Digest, Usher unveiled some of the more unique pieces that fill the 10,000-square-foot space.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
The sweet memories from the shoot are in sharp contrast to those from neighbouring Sweden.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
“She’s better,” I whisper to myself as I scratch a patch of dirt clear of leaf litter, then rip out a buckthorn shoot hiding underneath.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
On-location film shoots dropped 13% in the second quarter from a year earlier, according to FilmLA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
The poet himself, who is the kind of guy who shoots pool with blue-collar men after work, starts to seem like a different, less humble, figure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
After being turned into LPG and shipped across the Atlantic the price shoots up.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Carla Cressy worked as a model from the age of five until she was 17, but kept collapsing on shoots.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
As Jack watched with growing apprehension, the first shoots reached the bottom of the overhang.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
But as bond yields climbed and the U.S. dollar weakened, prices of bitcoin and gold shot higher.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
Still, Perlmutter was willing to give it a shot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Cam Lampkin intercepted and broke up passes during training camp and appeared positioned for a shot at moving from the practice squad to the roster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
"I hope people can see that we actually bring value to the game of golf. My wish is that people give us one more shot and be open minded."
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Clare shot Gingersnipes a troubled look, but she gestured him on.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
A Connecticut jury separately ordered Jones to pay nearly $1 billion to families of eight victims and an FBI agent who responded to the shooting.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
An immigration officer charged in an on-duty Minneapolis shooting has been held in a Texas jail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
And it has enjoyed an unexpected revival as a shooting format in the last few years, beginning with Brady Corbet’s 2024 “The Brutalist,” giving the low-budget production a far more lavish look.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Yet who really expects the prime minister to be shooting and uploading his own content?
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
‘But -I’ve never seen shooting that good. Are you the best in your clan?’
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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.
