shooter

American  

[shoo-ter] / ˈʃu tər /

noun

• shooters
  plural

1. a person who shoots with a gun, bow, etc..

   efforts to capture the shooter.

2. a gun (often used in combination).

   a six-shooter.

3. a person who shoots a ball, puck, etc., at a goal.

4. a thing that shoots.

   The meteor shower had many bright shooters.

5. a marble used to shoot at other marbles in a game.

6. a person who sets off explosives in oil-drilling operations.

7. Informal. a professional or amateur photographer.

8. first-person shooter.

9. 1. an alcoholic drink served in a shot glass or contained in a miniature bottle.

   2. a dessert or other food served in a shot glass or other very small container (usually used in combination).

      soup shooters; shooters of chocolate mousse.

   3. the container itself.

      white ceramic shooters.

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shooter British  

/ ˈʃuːtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that shoots

2. slang a gun

3. cricket a ball that unexpectedly travels low on pitching

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• shooters
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of shooter

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at shoot ¹ -er ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shooter shooters

Neighbors did not identify the shooter by name, but recognized him from images posted to the social media accounts of his mother, Shauntai Nickerson.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Police said two people—a teacher and a father—heroically intervened to stop a 16-year-old shooter at a Bend, Ore., elementary school, saving others’ lives.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Creative director Matt Searcy tells Newsbeat the sci-fi shooter is a "mix of war story with comic book-y monsters that come out of the ground".

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Next, a jury will determine whether the shooter was sane at the time of the act.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

His broad shoulders tapered to a narrow waist, and he walked with the swagger of someone who wore a six shooter on each hip.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

Designed to stop school shooters, these drones were inspired by the Ukraine war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Garcia joined Fields in the back row, watching as Steel cross-examined Kacey Hester, also known as OTF Jam, one of the admitted shooters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Gun ownership reforms already introduced by the state mean individuals can only own four firearms - although some people, such as farmers and sports shooters, can own a maximum of 10.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Washington and Tim Hardaway Jr., all of whom were athletic, three-point shooters and good defenders.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

But shooters did not like to shoot a walker, because even a killed walker was worth no more than a wounded flyer—that is, one point in the scorekeeper’s book.

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli

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Related Words

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