Word.ws English Dictionary

shots fired

shots fired interjection: used other than figuratively or idiomatically: (especially law enforcement) indicates that a firearm has been discharged in the vicinity of the speaker.

Interjection

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: (especially law enforcement) indicates that a firearm has been discharged in the vicinity of the speaker.
  2. (idiomatic, slang) Used to indicate that one finds a statement or action derisive or combative.
    • I look at them. They're the boards of a novice-recently-turned-intermediate surfer.
      'Does Garrett have any boards in the van?'
      'Ooh, shots fired. What's wrong with my boards, eh?'2016, Lisa Glass, Blue, unnumbered page
    • Shots fired! Lonely Horse came out guns-a-blazing with the track "Devil in the White House."2017 November 9, Gabe Vodicka, “Songs of Protest, Songs of Hope”, in Salt Lake City Weekly, page 16

Questions about shots fired

What does shots fired mean?
Shots fired means used other than figuratively or idiomatically: (especially law enforcement) indicates that a firearm has been discharged in the vicinity of the speaker.
What part of speech is shots fired?
Shots fired is an interjection.

Words near shots fired in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: shots fired (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-shots fired.ogg.

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