Word.ws English Dictionary

shots across the bow

shots across the bow is the plural of shot across the bow.

Meaning of shot across the bow

Noun

shot across the bow (plural shots across the bow)

  1. (idiomatic) A warning that negative consequences will be faced if something is carried out or allowed to continue.
    • President [Franklin] Pierce, like a great war ship, fired two shots across the bows of the Congress, to bring matters to.1856 March, “Monthly Summary. [United States.]”, in George R[ex] Graham, editor, Graham’s American Monthly Magazine of Literature and Art, volume XLVIII, number 3, Philadelphia, Pa.: George R....
    Synonyms:
    warning shot

Questions about shots across the bow

What is shots across the bow the plural of?
Shots across the bow is the plural of shot across the bow.

Words near shots across the bow in the dictionary

  1. shotput
  2. shotputs
  3. shotputter
  4. shotputters
  5. shots
  6. shots across the bow
  7. shots across the bows
  8. shots fired
  9. shots in one's locker
  10. shots in the arm
  11. shots in the dark

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: shots across the bow (page history and authors); shot across the bow (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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