/ ʃɒt; NAmE ʃɑːt/ noun , adjective
—see also shoot , shot , shot verb
■ noun
WITH GUN
1.
[ C ] shot (at sb/sth) the act of firing a gun; the sound this makes :
The man fired several shots from his pistol.
Someone took a shot at the car.
We heard some shots in the distance.
—see also gunshot , potshot
2.
[ C ] a good, bad, etc. ~ a person who shoots a gun in a particular way (well, badly, etc.)
BULLETS
3.
(also ˌlead ˈshot ) [ U ] a large number of small metal balls that you fire together from a shotgun
—see also buckshot
4.
[ C ] ( pl. shot ) a large stone or metal ball that was shot from a cannon or large gun in the past
REMARK / ACTION
5.
[ C ] a remark or an action that is usually one of a series, and is aimed against sb/sth that you are arguing or competing with :
This statement was the opening shot in the argument.
The supermarket fired the first shot in a price war today.
ATTEMPT
6.
[ C , usually sing. ] shot (at sth / at doing sth) ( informal ) the act of trying to do or achieve sth :
The team are looking good for a shot at the title.
I've never produced a play before but I'll have a shot at it.
I'm willing to give it a shot .
Just give it your best shot (= try as hard as you can) and you'll be fine.
IN SPORT
7.
[ C ] the action of hitting, kicking or throwing the ball in order to score a point or goal in a game :
Taylor scored with a low shot into the corner of the net.
Good shot!
8.
(often the shot ) [ sing. ] the heavy ball that is used in the sports competition called the shot-put
PHOTOGRAPH
9.
[ C ] a photograph :
I got some good shots of people at the party.
—see also mugshot , snapshot ➡ note at photograph
SCENE IN FILM / MOVIE
10.
[ C ] a scene in a film / movie that is filmed continuously by one camera :
the opening shot of a character walking across a desert
DRUG
11.
[ C ] ( informal , especially NAmE ) a small amount of a drug that is put into your body using a syringe
SYN injection :
a flu shot (= to protect you against flu)
a shot of morphine
DRINK
12.
[ C ] ( informal ) a small amount of a drink, especially a strong alcoholic one :
a shot of whisky
OF SPACECRAFT
13.
[ C ] an occasion when a spacecraft is sent into space :
The space shot was shown live on television.
HORSE / DOG IN RACE
14.
[ sing. ] (used with numbers) a horse, dog, etc. that has the particular chance of winning a race that is mentioned :
The horse is a 10–1 shot.
HELP NOTE : You will find other compounds ending in shot at their place in the alphabet.
•
IDIOMS
- like a shot
- a shot across the / sb's bows
- a shot in the arm
—more at big adjective , call verb , dark noun , long adjective , parting adjective
■ adjective
1.
shot (with sth) ( of cloth, hair, etc. ) having another colour showing through or mixed with the main colour :
shot silk
2.
[ not before noun ] ( informal ) in a very bad condition; destroyed :
The brakes on this car are shot.
I'm shot—I'm too old for this job.
After the accident his nerves were shot to pieces .
•
IDIOMS
- be / get shot of sb/sth
- shot through with sth
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun Old English sc(e)ot , gesc(e)ot of Germanic origin; related to German Geschoss , from the base of the verb shoot .