shoot

Verb

shoot (third-person singular simple present shoots, present participle shooting, simple past shot, past participle shot or (rare) shotten)

1. (transitive) To fire (a weapon that releases a bullet or other projectile).
   • to shoot a gun
2. (transitive) To fire or launch (a projectile).
   • If you please / To shoot an arrow that self way.c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...

   Synonyms:

   loose

3. (transitive) To fire a projectile at (a person or target).
   • The man, in a desperate bid for freedom, grabbed his gun and started shooting anyone he could.
   • The hunter shot the deer to harvest its meat.
4. (intransitive) To cause a weapon to discharge a projectile; to use a gun or similar weapon.
   • They shot at a target.
   • He shoots better than he rides.
5. (intransitive) To hunt game with a gun; to go hunting for recreation.
   • They're coming to shoot with us on Sunday.
   • The place was called the House of More, and I had shot at it once or twice in recent years.1899 January – 1902 January, John Buchan, “(please specify the page)”, in The Watcher by the Threshold, and Other Tales, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1902, →OCLC
6. (transitive) To hunt on (a piece of land) with a gun; to kill game in or on.
   • Although the estate had been shot previously, there had been no effective keepering and little success with the pheasants released.1969, Game Conservancy (Great Britain), Annual Review (issues 1-8, page 16)
7. (intransitive) To function as a weapon that launches a projectile.
   • The gun shoots well.
8. (intransitive) To throw dice; to roll.
   • Then, when it was his turn to shoot, he reached out with a completely empty hand and caught the dice the stickman threw to him.1980, John Scarne, Scarne on Dice, page 275
9. (slang, transitive) To ejaculate.
   • After a very short time, he shot his load over the carpet.
10. (colloquial, imperative, intransitive) To begin to speak.
    • "Can I ask you a question?" "Shoot."
    • "And now," I suggested, "I think it's about time we began to rough out a plan of campaign. Shall I throw around a few observations first?" […] Josella blew out a feather of smoke and took a sip of her drink. Savouring the flavour, she said: "I wonder whether we shall ever taste fresh oranges again?...1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 92
11. (figuratively, transitive) To dismiss, reject, or do away with.
    • His idea was shot on sight.
12. (ambitransitive, analogous) To photograph.
    • He shot the couple in a variety of poses.
    • He shot seventeen stills.

Noun

shoot (plural shoots)

1. The emerging stem and embryonic leaves of a new plant.
   • Prune off yet also superfluous branches, and shoots of this second spring.1664, J[ohn] E[velyn], Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal...
   • From the bonfire of last autumn's HS2 decision, there are green shoots pushing through the ashes.2024 April 3, Philip Haigh, “Comment: A new, better version of HS2”, in RAIL, number 1006, page 3
2. A photography session.
   • "Hmm." "Problem?" "Arianna warned me this might be a challenging shoot. I think she was worried about you being belligerent, but the real issue is turning out to be your specularity. It looks like I'm taking pictures of a flashbang."2015 July 9, Dave Barrack, Grrl Power (webcomic), Grrl Power #334 – Make down
   • While you see some of our exploration on camera, I also spent many happy hours between shoots with Chris Nix, digging out dozens of wonderful plans, maps and drawings of projects that I never knew existed, and some that never did exist.2021 June 30, Tim Dunn, “How we made... Secrets of the London Underground”, in RAIL, number 934, page 50
3. A hunt or shooting competition.
4. (slang) An event that is unscripted or legitimate.
5. The act of shooting; the discharge of a missile; a shot.
   • The Turkish bow giveth a very forcible shoot.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted...
   • One underneath his horse to get a shoot doth stalk.1612, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion
6. A rush of water; a rapid.
7. A weft thread shot through the shed by the shuttle; a pick.
8. A shoat; a young pig.
9. A vein of ore running in the same general direction as the lode.
   • where to find a shoot of ore opposite one they may have taken away on a parallel lode1853, Thomas McElrath, William Jewett Tenney, William Phipps Blake, The Mining Magazine and Journal of Geology, Mineralogy, Metallurgy
   • In the western dike is a shoot about 4 feet in diameter carrying a considerable sprinkling of cassiterite, ore which in quantity would undoubtedly be worth mining. The shoot contains a large amount of muscovite mica with quartz and very little or no feldspar...1901, Frank Lee Hess, pubs.usgs.gov report. Rare Metals. TIN, TUNGSTEN, AND TANTALUM IN SOUTH DAKOTA.
10. An inclined plane, either artificial or natural, down which timber, coal, ore, etc., are caused to slide; a chute.
    • That there was no evidence before the jury that at the time of the accident the timber shoot was worked by the defendant company.1891, New South Wales. Supreme Court, The New South Wales Law Reports, volume 12, page 238
11. The act of taking all point cards in one hand.
12. A seismic survey carried out with geophones in an attempt to detect oil.
    • Once the last line of cable has been retrieved, there is little evidence that a shoot has been conducted.1980, The Williston Basin, 1980, page 159

Interjection

1. A mild expletive, expressing disbelief or dismay
   • Didn't you have a concert tonight? —Shoot! I forgot! I have to go and get ready…
   • She practically stopped dancing, and started looking over everybody’s heads to see if she could see him. “Oh, shoot!” she said. I'd just about broken her heart—I really had.1951 July 16, J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 96

   Synonyms:

   darn, dash, fiddlesticks, shucks, sugar