Showing results for "shot"

• past tense form of shoot.
• past participle of shoot.

shot

¹ American  

[shot] / ʃɒt /

noun

• shots,
  plural
• shot
  plural

1. a discharge of a firearm, bow, etc.

2. the range of or the distance traveled by a missile in its flight.

3. an aimed discharge of a missile.

4. an attempt to hit a target with a missile.

5. an act or instance of shooting a firearm, bow, etc.

6. a small ball or pellet of lead, a number of which are loaded in a cartridge and used for one charge of a shotgun.

7. such pellets collectively.

   a charge of shot.

8. a projectile for discharge from a firearm or cannon.

9. such projectiles collectively.

   shot and shell.

10. a person who shoots; marksman.

    He was a good shot.

11. Slang. a blow; punch.

    The prizefighter was knocked out by a shot in the chin.

12. anything like a shot, especially in being sudden and forceful.

13. a heavy metal ball that competitors cast as far as possible in shot-putting contests.

14. an aimed stroke, throw, or the like, as in certain games, especially in an attempt to score.

15. an attempt or try.

    He's entitled to a shot at the championship.

    Synonyms:

    essay, go, chance

16. a remark aimed at some person or thing.

17. a guess at something.

18. a hypodermic injection, as of a serum, vaccine, narcotic, or anaesthetic.

    He took a series of immunizing shots for hay fever.

19. a small quantity, especially an ounce, of undiluted liquor.

20. an amount due, especially at a tavern.

21. Photography.

    1. a photograph, especially a snapshot.

       Here's a nice shot of my kids.

    2. the act of making a photograph, especially a snapshot.

22. Movies, Television. a unit of action photographed without interruption and constituting a single camera view.

23. an explosive charge in place for detonation, as in mining or quarrying.

24. Metallurgy. comparatively hard globules of metal in the body of a casting.

25. Nautical. a 90-foot (27-meter) length of anchor cable or chain.

26. Checkers. a compulsory series of exchanges, especially when it proves favorable to the aggressor.

27. Textiles.

    1. a pick sent through the shed in a single throw of the shuttle.

    2. (in carpet weaving) filling yarn used to bind the pile to the fabric, usually expressed with a preceding number representing the quantity of picks used.

       three-shot carpet.

    3. a defect in a fabric caused by an unusual color or size in the yarn.

28. a chance with odds for and against; a bet.

    a 20 to 1 shot that his horse will come in first.

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verb (used with object)

shotted, shotting

1. to load or supply with shot.

2. to weight with shot.

verb (used without object)

shotted, shotting

1. to manufacture shot, as in a shot tower.

idioms

1. shot in the arm, something that results in renewed vigor, confidence, etc.; stimulus.

   Her recent promotion has given her a shot in the arm. The new members gave the club a shot in the arm.

2. have / take a shot at, make an attempt at.

   I'll have a shot at solving the problem.

3. by a long shot. long shot.

4. call the shots, to have the power or authority to make decisions or control policy.

   Now that he's chairman of the board, he calls the shots.

5. call one's shots, to indicate beforehand what one intends to do and how one intends to do it.

6. shot in the dark, a wild guess; a random conjecture.

7. like a shot, instantly; quickly.

   He bolted out of here like a shot.

shot ² American  

[shot] / ʃɒt /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of shoot.

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adjective

1. woven so as to present a play of colors; having a changeable color; variegated, as silk.

2. spread or streaked with color.

   the dawn sky shot with gold.

3. in hopelessly bad condition; ruined.

   Those sneakers are really shot. His morale is shot.

4. Slang. intoxicated.

shot ¹ British  

/ ʃɒt /

noun

1. the act or an instance of discharging a projectile

2. a solid missile, such as an iron ball or a lead pellet, discharged from a firearm

3. 1. small round pellets of lead collectively, as used in cartridges

   2. metal in the form of coarse powder or small pellets

4. the distance that a discharged projectile travels or is capable of travelling

5. a person who shoots, esp with regard to his ability

   he is a good shot

6. informal an attempt; effort

7. informal a guess or conjecture

8. any act of throwing or hitting something, as in certain sports

9. the launching of a rocket, missile, etc, esp to a specified destination

   a moon shot

10. 1. a single photograph

       I took 16 shots of the wedding

    2. a series of frames on cine film concerned with a single event

    3. a length of film taken by a single camera without breaks, used with others to build up a full motion picture or television film

11. informal an injection, as of a vaccine or narcotic drug

12. informal a glass of alcoholic drink, esp spirits

13. sport a heavy metal ball used in the shot put

14. an explosive charge used in blasting

15. globules of metal occurring in the body of a casting that are harder than the rest of the casting

16. a unit of chain length equal to 75 feet (Brit) or 90 feet (US)

17. slang to have control over an organization, course of action, etc

18. informal

    1. to attempt

    2. to jibe at or vex

19. very quickly, esp willingly

20. informal anything that regenerates, increases confidence or efficiency, etc

    his arrival was a shot in the arm for the company

21. a wild guess

22. informal that is the right thing to do

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verb

1. (tr) to weight or load with shot

shot ² British  

/ ʃɒt /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of shoot

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adjective

1. (of textiles) woven to give a changing colour effect

   shot silk

2. streaked with colour

3. slang exhausted

4. slang to get rid of

shot More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing shot

• big cheese (shot)
• call the shots
• cheap shot
• give it one's best shot
• have a crack (shot) at
• like a shot
• long shot
• parting shot
• shoot

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• shotless
  adjective
• shotlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• shot
  plural
• shots
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of shot¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English sc(e)ot, (ge)sceot; cognate with German Schoss, Geschoss; akin to shoot ¹ ( def. )

Origin of shot²

First recorded in 1830–40, for the adjective

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shot shots shotted shotting

No. The buyers were betting on a 15% shot, and the 85% came in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Chacarra shot a second-round 71 on Friday to sit well down the field on three under, while Reed registered the same score to lie further back on one over.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

In 77 minutes against Besiktas, he didn't have a single shot and managed just one touch in the opposition box.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Federal prosecutors have dismissed an assault charge against a man whose lawyers say he was shot from behind by an immigration agent last year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

I shot him a smile, agreeing that it had turned out well in the end.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Moderna returned to profitability in the recent quarter and lifted its full-year revenue forecast, defying Wall Street expectations of continued losses as international demand for its Covid-19 shots stabilized.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

McIlroy had been handed the sanction for improving his lie during the opening round and as a result finished day one on two under par, eight shots behind the leader, Italian Francesco Laporta.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

For instance, the crew built the “Nunavut arm,” a jib mounted on a pickup truck’s flatbed to capture wide outdoor shots.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

The former allies, and now competitors, took veiled shots at each other as they each hit multiple campaign stops Sunday morning, with both attending church services and other events.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026

“Getting shots is part of being in the hospital,” the plump nurse said briskly.

From "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr

“Keep your guns shotted and your powder dry!”

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

The guns of the fort were shotted, like those of the Dardanelles.

From Journal of a Visit to Constantinople and Some of the Greek Islands in the Spring and Summer of 1833 by John Auldjo

The news was at once telegraphed to Charleston; and the gunners in the Confederate trenches shotted their guns, and awaited the appearance of the steamer.

From The Naval History of the United States Volume 2 by W. C. Jackson

This grew more and more certain as the time glided on, and Roberts went so far as to assert that he could tell the difference between the unshotted and the shotted guns which followed.

From Hunting the Skipper The Cruise of the "Seafowl" Sloop by Harold Piffard

In an inlet to the northward Vane met Blackbeard, and saluted him, according to piratical etiquette, with a discharge of his shotted guns.

From The Monarchs of the Main, Volume III (of 3) Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers by Walter Thornbury

“Maybe I should stop drop shotting and start winning,” Melzer said with a laugh.

From New York Times ● May 27, 2010

When bass are near a weedy bottom, Lillegard favors vertical jigging or drop shotting above the vegetation.

From Time Magazine Archive

An' so the singing an' shotting go on.

From Jamaican Song and Story Annancy stories, digging sings, ring tunes, and dancing tunes by Walter Jekyll

Not being able to aggravate us into shotting our guns, what must he turn to and do but load with stone—and look at that flag!

From The Honour of the Flag by W. Clark (William Clark) Russell

If a hunting-habit be properly cut it will require no shotting, which will be an advantage to your horse in diminishing the weight which he would otherwise have to carry.

From Ladies on Horseback Learning, Park-Riding, and Hunting, with Hints upon Costume, and Numerous Anecdotes by Nannie Lambert

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Related Words

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