shot1
/ʃɒt
/noun
1The firing of a gun or cannon: Mulder killed him with a single shot figurative they have fired the opening shot in what’s expected to be a savage price war...
- Carter recommended firing two aimed shots to establish where the rifle is hitting.
- Cursing himself for being so stupid, Bryce took aim and fired a single shot at the man's left leg.
- When he didn't hear a single shot fired, Ben chanced a look behind him and saw Jen running after him.
Synonyms
report, crack, bang, blast, explosion, discharge;
(shots) gunfire
1.1An attempt to hit a target by shooting: he asked me if I would like to have a shot at a pheasant...
- They all had fifty shots at the targets and the twelve contestants with the highest score on the day qualified to represent the county on Saturday next.
1.2 [with adjective] A person with a specified level of ability in shooting: Roy was a very good shot...
- The problem with shooting is that to kill a Fox without it suffering you would need an excellent shot.
- Worse yet, your opponents are unbelievably excellent shots who almost never miss.
- The second, while not a competitor, is an excellent shot and a genuine professional.
Synonyms
marksman, markswoman, shooter, rifleman
rare shootist
1.3A critical or hostile remark: Paul tried one last shot—‘You realize what you want will cost more money?’...
- A lot of people criticize you, take shots at you, but that is our job.
- I believe that was a shot at those of us who criticize bilingual education, but it was hard to tell.
2A hit, stroke, or kick of the ball in sports such as football, tennis, or golf: his partner pulled off a winning backhand shot...
- His refusal to go down often results in defenders getting extra shots at the ball.
- During afternoons in the school year, when the weather was good, I hit hundreds of nine-iron shots on a football field near our home.
- Rallies last far longer than in tennis - about 10 shots more on average - and the shuttle is in play for roughly double the time.
Synonyms
stroke, hit, strike;
kick, throw, pitch, roll, bowl, lob, fling, hurl, shot-put
2.1An attempt to score a goal: he took a shot that the goalie stopped...
- McCartney took a shot on goal but it rebounded back to him off a defender.
- Zane Keenan took a shot at goal but thanks to a brilliant save by our goalie Justin Brophy this did not go in.
- While they were tossing the coin Andrew was taken to the goal where he took four penalty shots at David James scoring twice.
2.2 informal An attempt to do something: several of the competitors will have a shot at the all-round title...
- You don't even have a shot at making something good if you don't sit down and give it a try.
- Whatever people say about their team, all we know is we have a shot at making history.
- In a perfect world, nearly every track on this album would have a shot at the top of the charts.
Synonyms
attempt, try, effort, endeavour;
turn, chance, opportunity;
guess
informal go, stab, crack, bash, whack
formal essay
3 (plural same) A ball of stone or metal used as a missile shot from a large gun or cannon.They were made of wrought iron strips bound together with hoops and fired stone shot.
Synonyms
ball, bullet, cannonball, slug, projectile;
pellets, ammunition
3.1 (also lead shot) [mass noun] Tiny lead pellets used in quantity in a single charge or cartridge in a shotgun: metal fragments and lead shot were sent in all directions...
- Plated with either copper or nickel, lead shot flies truer because it resists deformation.
- The same-size shot as lead shot can be used with the same degree of choke.
- Efforts are being made in some states to outlaw the use of lead shot.
3.2A heavy ball thrown by a shot-putter.Right before you get ready to throw the shot, take a deep breath in and let it out....
- These are things that are not going to allow you to repeat and throw a good shot.
- I practised throwing the shot in the orchard and I ran the 800m to national standard.
4A photograph: a group shot of all the family...
- Even the most amateur of photographers can snap perfect shots in this idyllic place.
- In the same frame as Akayesu's photograph is a shot of Prosper taken earlier in the trial.
- At a team practice, a local photographer snaps some shots of her which he hopes to sell on the open market.
Synonyms
photograph, photo, snap, snapshot, picture, likeness, image, portrait, study, print, slide, transparency, negative, positive, plate, film, bromide, frame, exposure, still, proof, enprint, enlargement
4.1A film sequence photographed continuously by one camera: the movie’s opening shot is of a character walking across a featureless landscape...
- Is there really a need for slow motion shots of him running with an American flag?
- Indeed elegance is the last thing you might have expected from the opening shots of the film.
- It is really the exterior shots and fight sequences which give the film its scope and grandeur.
4.2 [mass noun] The range of a camera’s view: a prop man was standing just out of shot...
- I think she was pleased to have her tree photographed there, though, but tried her best to be out of shot.
- Have the assistant who will fire the trigger, out of camera shot on the ground.
- Perhaps there is an unsightly electricity pylon just out of camera shot?
5A small drink of spirits: he took a shot of whisky...
- This happens when alcohol is added to a non-alcoholic drink, or when an alcoholic drink has shots of spirits added without the person requesting it.
- One winter they ran out of beer, so people were drinking shots of whiskey with red-wine chasers.
- Then we ordered shots of whiskey to drink with our beer.
5.1A single serving of espresso coffee: steamed milk with a shot of espresso...
- Now it's time to be generous to yourself: an extra shot of espresso in your coffee; an extra 10 minutes in bed on Monday morning; a few extra hours away from the computer.
- Before entering the library premises, I ordered an extra shot of espresso coffee, decided to soak in the ambience and took a seat on the library's plaza.
- Pudding is an impossibly rich chocolate cake, followed by a shot of treacly espresso.
5.2An injection of a drug or vaccine: a shot of impure heroin...
- Immunization shots and antiviral drugs are apparently not plentiful enough to withstand a pandemic.
- The current vaccine involves six shots with yearly boosters.
- The biggest problem people have is usually some tenderness at the site of the vaccination, but flu shots absolutely don't cause the flu.
Synonyms
injection, inoculation, immunization, vaccination, revaccination, booster;
Medicine venepuncture
informal jab, fix, hype
6 [usually with modifier] The launch of a space rocket: a moon shot
Phrases
give it one's best shot
like a shot
not have a shot in one's locker
a shot across the bows
a shot in the arm
a shot in the dark
Derivatives
shotproof
Origin
Old English sc(e)ot, gesc(e)ot of Germanic origin; related to German Geschoss, from the base of the verb shoot.
Rhymes
shot2
/ʃɒt/verb
past and past participle of shoot.
adjective
1(Of coloured cloth) woven with a warp and weft of different colours, giving a contrasting effect when looked at from different angles: a dress of shot silk...
- Do orange and purple shot silk cushions actually enhance my decor?
Synonyms
variegated, mottled, watered, moiré;
multicoloured, many-coloured, varicoloured;
iridescent, opalescent, lustrous, shimmering
1.1Interspersed with a different colour: dark hair shot with silver...
- Sometimes they were shot with streaks of ultramarine, or they lit up the sea like jade.
- We came to the small medieval town of Orchha as the sun was sinking from a pink and grey sky shot with golden threads.
- The back is greenish and the sides silvery, shot with blue and pink.
1.2 (shot through with) Suffused with (a particular feature or quality): the mist was shot through with orange spokes of light...
- Some of the songs are shot through with what seems like a deliberately ambiguous approach.
- The novels are shot through with a Burkean fear of enlightenment rationalism.
- Pipes's book is shot through with essentialism and questionable generalizations.
2 informal Ruined or worn out: a completely shot engine will put you out of the race my nerves are shot
2.1 [predicative] US & Australian /NZ Drunk.
Phrases
get (or be) shot of
shot to pieces (or to hell)
shot3
/ʃɒt/noun [in singular] British informal, dated
A bill or one’s share of it, especially in a pub: he had paid her shot
Origin
Late Middle English: from shot1; compare with Old English scēotan 'shoot, pay, contribute' and scot.