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Synonyms

shoot out

British  

verb

  1. to fight to the finish by shooting (esp in the phrase shoot it out )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a conclusive gunfight

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

The commission voted unanimously to rule the officers’ decision to shoot out of policy.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

In the pitch black of the mine, mud-splattered men with headlamps drill into the rock in two-man teams, using hydro drills with long, thin nozzles that shoot out pressurized water to loosen the ore.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026

Blazars are a type of active galaxy powered by supermassive black holes that shoot out powerful, narrow jets of particles and radiation at nearly the speed of light.

From Science Daily • Nov. 7, 2025

He eclipsed Fleetwood's plucky challenge after Jon Rahm and McIlroy had threatened golden glory in what proved 2024's best day for golf, with so many big guns involved in such a dramatic shoot out.

From BBC • Dec. 23, 2024

Whenever one came near him, his hand would shoot out quick as a striking snake to close around it.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

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.