Showing results for "shot"

• past participle of shoot.
• past tense form 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

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shot shots shotted shotting

But the numbers of the new variants have shot up since July, and they are becoming the backbone of Russia’s long-range drone campaign.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

So, Linney’s Guardian strikes a deal with Bernadette to give John, an infant at this point, a truly fair shot at superheroic greatness.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

Bearing in mind Fernandes missed two penalties in pre-season, there must have been a sizeable amount of personal pressure on the shot.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

Johnston, a beloved local and the favorite entering the tournament, will have to outdo McKinney on the weekend to give himself a shot at the overall season title.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Like a shot out of a gun, the little lady came from behind the counter and over to Rowdy.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

By his own admission, he can identify all the shots he needs to make, but his body has begun to lag a beat behind the music.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

He is five years younger, gets more touches, carries the ball more frequently, creates more for others and, in limited minutes last season, generated shots and high-quality chances at an impressive rate.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

But because the draft was an inexact science, the surest way to extract value was to take as many shots as possible.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

While Sweden's Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis, pushed on by competition from Greece's Emmanouil Karalis, failed in three shots at improving his own pole vault world record to 6.32m.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

By then, the first shots had been fired at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

“Keep your guns shotted and your powder dry!”

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

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

And of what avail then the shotted cannon, the firelocks in the loop-holes!

From The Story of Old Fort Loudon by Mary Noailles Murfree

Some of the goldseekers fired a salute with shotted guns when, poised on the mountain side, they looked down upon a stream flowing to the northwest.

From The Trail of the Goldseekers A Record of Travel in Prose and Verse by Hamlin Garland

Well shotted cannon turn their open and angry mouths upon this one poor mortal.

From John Brown: A Retrospect Read before The Worcester Society of Antiquity, Dec. 2, 1884. by Alfred S. (Alfred Seelye) Roe

“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

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

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

Related Words

• attempt
• break
• opportunity
• time