single-shot

American  

[sing-guhl-shot] / ˈsɪŋ gəlˈʃɒt /

adjective

1. (of a firearm) requiring loading before each shot; not having or using a cartridge magazine.

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Etymology

Origin of single-shot

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90

Example Sentences

From its 15-year-old star to its risky single-shot direction and unsettlingly resonant themes, the limited series “Adolescence” was as close to perfection as a piece of television gets.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2025

Singh said the single-shot technique "can feel like a gimmick" but that the acting is "phenomenal".

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2025

Soderbergh’s camera moves slowly enough for the viewer to forget that they’re an active part of his film, letting each long, single-shot take wander as it would if we were surveying the house ourselves.

From Salon • Jan. 24, 2025

The show is technically a sequel to the 2021 movie “Boiling Point,” a single-shot movie about one catastrophic night at a fancy restaurant.

From New York Times • May 10, 2024

Foot soldiers in the past had fought with single-shot rifles that could not fire very straight or very far and with crude short-range cannon.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman