I. ˈshät, usu -äd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English scot, sceot; akin to Old Frisian & Old Norse skot action of throwing, missile, shot, Old High German scoz missile, scuz shot, skiozzan to shoot — more at shoot
1.
a. : an action of shooting : rush , flash
a shot of lightning
heard the shot of the bolt on the front door
b. : a directed propelling of a missile (as an arrow, stone, rocket)
took a shot at the hat with his snowball
fired a second rocket shot at the moon
specifically : a directed discharge of a firearm
heard three shots fired in rapid succession
exchanged shots but no one was hit
a bad shot that missed by a mile
c.
(1) : a stroke in a game (as billiards, golf, or tennis)
(2) : a scoring stroke or throw (as in cricket, curling)
(3) : a try for goal (as in basketball, hockey, lacrosse, soccer)
d. : a single cast and haul of a fishing net or set of nets
e. : one throw of the shuttle in weaving : pick V 2a
f. : the act of estimating distance or altitude by means of an instrument (as a sextant, transit)
g. : a setting off of a charge of explosives : blast
the fifth shot of the 1955 nuclear test series — New York Times
h. : an injection of a drug, immunizing substance, nutrient, or medicament
got a shot for the pain
gave himself a second shot of the narcotic
2.
a. plural shot : material propelled by shooting: as
(1) : large solid or nearly solid projectiles (as for a cannon) with no bursting charge
heaps of shells, scrap iron, and solid shot were placed on top of the gunpowder — C.S.Forester
granite shot was used for guns … in the sixteenth century — E.E.Evans
the shot and shell of an election year — Time
(2) : small lead or steel pellets of any of various sizes for ammunition of which a quantity usually loaded in a cartridge forms a charge for a shotgun — see bb , bird shot , buckshot ; cartridge illustration
(3) : a single projectile of such shot
load another shot
BB shot are a poor goose load — Elmer Keith
b. : a metal sphere of iron or brass usually weighing 16 pounds for men's events or 8 pounds for women's events which is put for distance
c. plural shot
(1) : metal in small pellets for use as an abrasive (as for blast cleaning of castings, core drilling, and sawing, grinding, and polishing stone), for peening, and for other industrial or craft use — compare grit
(2) : a single pellet of such shot
a cracked shot
shot are soldered to metal parts — A.F.Rose & Antonio Cirino
3. : one of the forged lengths of chain usually 15 fathoms long and joined by shackles to form an anchor cable
4.
a. : a place or spot for setting nets
b. : a single catch of fish
5.
a. : the distance that a missile is or can be thrown
lying a cannon shot apart
b. : the distance within which something is effective : range , reach
out of the shot and danger of desire — Shakespeare
6. : a charge to be paid (as at a tavern) : scot , bill
7. dialect England : furlong 2a
8. : one that shoots:
a. obsolete : a soldier with a firearm ; also : a group of such soldiers
b. : marksman
policemen who are all good shots with a pistol
9.
a.
(1) : an effort designed to accomplish a definite end : attempt , try , go
his first shot at saying anything — P.G.Wodehouse
— often used in the phrase have a shot at
sent for the village priest to have a shot at reforming him — Calgary (Canada) Herald
(2) : an exchange in checkers that is advantageous to the side that forces it
b. : guess , conjecture
made rather random shots in identifying the men … cantering up and down — William Black
dating on stylistic grounds alone is but a shot in the dark because too often we lack the proper elements of comparison — Maurice Vieyra
c. : a chance at odds
a horse that left the gate as a 12 to 1 shot
it's a 10 to 1 shot that he'll be on time
d. : a chance to do something : opportunity
give you a shot at the property first — Sinclair Lewis
e. : a single appearance as an entertainer
was offered a guest shot on a television program
10. dialect Britain : a creature of little value (as an animal culled from a herd or a young or stunted animal)
11. : a remark so directed as to have telling effect
“you're finished in New York …” was his parting shot — Polly Adler
12.
a. : a single photographic exposure ; especially : snapshot
b. : a single sequence of a motion picture or a television program shot by one camera without interruption : a continuous view produced from one camera angle or by panning or dollying
a moving shot
a head-on shot
an action shot
— see close shot , long shot , medium shot , process shot , travel shot
13.
a. : a weft thread shot through the shed in one throw of a weaving shuttle : pick V 2b
b. : the number of filling yarns to each row of tufts in carpet manufacture
two- shot carpet
14. : a charge of explosives
a shot of nitroglycerine
15.
a. : a quantity (as of a drug) for injection
b. : a single drink of liquor : a serving (as of whiskey) that can be drunk in one swallow ; especially : a jigger of spirits taken undiluted
c. : a small amount applied at one time : dose
sometimes, in flight, the pilot may want a momentary shot of oxygen — Popular Science Monthly
a dramatist could inject a shot of colloquialism into a tragic aria — Kenneth Tynan
16. : the quantity (as of plastic) injected into a mold at one time
•
- like a shot
- shot in the arm
- shot in the locker
II. adjective
Etymology: partly from shot (I) , partly from shot (past participle of shoot ), from Middle English shoten, shot — more at shotten
1. : of, relating to, or used with ordnance or firearms shot
shot hoist
2.
a. : of contrasting and changeable color effects in fabrics produced by weaving warp and weft threads of different colors or by dyeing a fabric made of two fibers (as cotton and nylon) that react to dyes in varying manner : iridescent
shot silk
: variegated
black cloth shot with silver thread
b. : suffused or streaked with a color
the sky was a cold gray, shot over with a coppery light — T.B.Costain
his hair was shot with gray — Erle Stanley Gardner
c. : interpenetrated with an often contrasting quality or element : infused, permeated
full of robust satire, shot with gleams of tenderness — John Squire
an outdated, feudalistic upper class, shot through with quislings and collaborators — Bernard Seeman
3. : having the form of pellets resembling shot
shot clay soil
shot copper
shot ore
4. : welded
shot scissors
5.
a.
(1) : hit by a discharged missile
the birds swallow lead pellets picked up … in heavily shot areas — Texas Game & Fish
(2) : reduced to a state of ruin, prostration, or uselessness
went to a doctor because his nerves were shot
: washed up : finished
a strike that left the bus line's business all shot
: worn out
replace the faucets that are pretty well shot with some of the new type
b. slang : intoxicated
killed the bottle and got shot
c. : used up
my stock of adjectives is really shot , though, this late in the game — Richard Joseph
6. : bleached or otherwise injured by excessive moisture
shot wheat
III. verb
( shotted ; shotted ; shotting ; shots )
Etymology: shot (I)
transitive verb
1. : to subject to or form by the shotting process
2. : to form into small round particles (as by spraying)
intransitive verb
: to form into granules
IV.
chiefly dialect
variant of shut
V. noun
: an act, instance, or result of hitting:
a. : blow
the boxer took a hard shot to the body
b. : a hard-hit baseball
a three-run shot over the left-field wall