Shoot — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun interjection /ˈshüt/

Meaning & Definition of Shoot

Shoot (verb)

  1. to eject or impel or cause to be ejected or impelled by a sudden release of tension (as of a bowstring or slingshot or by a flick of a finger)
  2. to drive forth or cause to be driven forth by an explosion (as of a powder charge in a firearm or of ignited fuel in a rocket)
  3. to drive forth or cause to be driven forth by a sudden release of gas or air

Shoot (noun)

  1. a sending out of new growth or the growth sent out
  2. a stem or branch with its leaves and appendages especially when not yet mature
  3. offshoot

Shoot (interjection)

  1. —used to express annoyance or surprise

Shoot (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to cause (a projectile) to be driven forward with force

    "BB guns shoot small round metal pellets"

    similar: blast, discharge, fire, loose, squeeze off
    related: launch, project, blaze (at), snipe (at), cast, catapult, fling, heave, hurl, hurtle, lob, pelt, pitch, sling, throw, toss

  2. to cause a weapon to release a missile with great force

    "soldiers train extensively to learn to shoot accurately and quickly"

    similar: blast, discharge, fire
    related: blaze, pepper, plink, potshot, snipe

  3. to strike with a missile from a gun

    "hunters can shoot deer only during the legally specified open season"

    similar: drill, gun, plug, pop
    related: blow away, bring down, drop, pick off, shoot down, blaze, pepper, potshot, snipe (at), blast (at), fire (at), pistol, shotgun, machine-gun, tommy-gun, croak (slang), destroy, dispatch, do in, fell, ice (slang), kill, slay, annihilate, blot out, butcher, decimate, massacre, slaughter, wipe out

  4. to proceed or move quickly

    "some show-off shot past all the other skiers on the slope"

    similar: barrel, belt, blast, blaze, blow, bolt, bomb (slang), bowl, breeze, bundle, bustle, buzz, cannonball, careen, career, chase, course, crack (on), dash, drive, fly, hare, hasten, hie, highball, hotfoot (it), hump, hurl, hurry, hurtle, hustle, jet, jump, motor, nip, pelt, race, ram, rip, rocket, run, rush, rustle, scoot, scurry, scuttle, speed, step, tear, travel, trot, whirl, whisk, zip, zoom, beat it, get a move on, make tracks, shake a leg, step on it
    related: beetle, dart, flit, scamper, scud, scuffle, stampede, streak, whiz, gallop, jog, sprint, accelerate, quicken, step out, catch up, fast-forward, outpace, outrun, outstrip, overtake, arrow, beeline
    opposite: crawl, creep, poke
    near: dally, dawdle, dillydally, drag, hang (around or out), lag, linger, loiter, poke, tarry, amble, lumber, plod, saunter, shuffle, stroll, decelerate, slow (down or up)

  5. to take a photograph of

    "shooting the lakeside scene while the light lasted"

    similar: mug, photo, photograph, snap
    related: image, picture, rephotograph, retake, film, videotape

  6. to throw or give off

    "suddenly the old, broken-down toaster began shooting out sparks"

    similar: cast, discharge, emanate, emit, evolve, exhale, expel, expire (archaic), give out, irradiate, issue, radiate, release, send (out), throw out, vent
    related: eliminate, evacuate, excrete, exude, ooze, secrete, eject, erupt, gush, jet, outpour, pour, spew, spout, spray, spurt, squirt
    near: absorb, inhale, soak (up), sponge, suck (up), take up

  7. to voice one's opinions freely with force

    "you've been wanting to say something since this meeting started, so shoot"

    similar: pipe up, sound off, speak out, speak up, spout (off), talk up, speak one's mind
    related: bawl, bay, bellow, call, cry, holler, roar, shout, sing (out), thunder, vociferate, yell, articulate, enounce, enunciate
    near: belt up (British), clam up, dummy up, hush, shut up, suppress, quiet

  8. to mark with small spots especially unevenly

    "hazel eyes that were brown shot with green"

    similar: blotch, dapple, dot, fleck, freckle, marble, mottle, pepper, speck, speckle, splotch, spot, sprinkle, stipple
    related: blot, dye, stain, band, bar, streak, stripe, intersperse, set, stud, bespatter, spatter

  9. to cause to go or be taken from one place to another

    "shot a congratulatory e-mail to his friend as soon as he heard the good news"

    similar: consign, dispatch, pack (off), send, ship, transfer, transmit, transport
    related: convey, deliver, hand over, pass, render, advance, drop, launch, address, forward, export, import, bestow, contribute, donate, give, present, resend, return
    opposite: accept, receive
    near: acquire, draw, earn, gain, garner, get, obtain, procure, secure

Shoot (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a branch of a main stem especially of a plant

    "collected the most tender shoots for the vegetable dish he was making"

    similar: offshoot, outgrowth, sprout
    related: excrescence, growth, bough, branchlet, limb, twig, bud, floret, spray, sprig, spur

  2. a sharp unpleasant sensation usually felt in some specific part of the body

    "there'd be a shoot of pain from that molar whenever I bit down"

    similar: ache, pain, pang, prick, smart, sting, stitch, throe, tingle, twinge
    related: discomfort, distress, soreness, tenderness, affliction, agony, anguish, misery, sufferance, suffering, torment, torture, inflammation, sore, swelling, damage, detriment, harm, hurt, injury, backache, bellyache, charley horse, colic, complaint, earache, gripe, headache, stomachache, toothache
    near: comfort, ease, easiness

Related Entry: Shoot (up) (verb)

Shoot (up) is a different word from Shoot. The synonyms below are for shoot (up), not for shoot.

  1. to rise abruptly and rapidly

    "gas prices shot up seemingly overnight"

    similar: rocket, skyrocket, soar, zoom
    related: accumulate, appreciate, balloon, build up, burgeon, enlarge, escalate, expand, increase, mount, multiply, mushroom, proliferate, snowball, swell, wax, crest, peak, surge, heighten, intensify
    opposite: nose-dive, plummet, plunge, slump, tumble
    near: collapse, fall, contract, decrease, diminish, drop, lessen, wane

Related Entry: Shoot down (verb)

Shoot down is a different word from Shoot. The synonyms below are for shoot down, not for shoot.

  1. to make (someone or something) the object of unkind laughter

    "nowadays the aging activist is routinely shot down in most quarters of the media and dismissed as an irrelevant crank"

    similar: deride, gibe, jeer, laugh (at), mock, ridicule, scout, skewer, cock a snook (at), make fun of, make sport of, poke fun at, rag on
    related: scoff (at), scorn, sneer (at), bad-mouth, belittle, decry, disparage, pooh-pooh, put down, chaff, jive, josh, kid, quiz, rally, razz, rib, ride, tease, tweak, twit, bait, barrack (chiefly British), bug, catcall, harass, harry, hassle, heckle, needle, pester, rag, target, taunt, torment, ape, burlesque, caricature, imitate, lampoon, mimic, parody, parrot, pillory, satirize, take off (on), travesty
    near: applaud, approve, commend, endorse, sanction

  2. to reject by or as if by a vote

    "every one of my fund-raising ideas was shot down by the other club members"

    similar: blackball, down, kill, negative, nix, veto
    related: decline, disallow, disapprove, dismiss, refuse, blacklist
    opposite: confirm, ratify
    near: admit, allow, approve, assent (to), pass, sanction, elect, support

  3. to prove to be false

    "the results of several studies shoot down the hypothesis that coffee causes heart attacks"

    similar: belie, confound, confute, debunk, disconfirm, discredit, disprove, falsify, rebut, refute, give the lie to
    related: overthrow, overturn, challenge, contest, query, question, doubt, mistrust, debate, discuss, hash (over), moot, talk over
    opposite: confirm, establish, prove, validate, verify
    near: document, evidence, evince, record, show, support, witness, back (up), buttress, corroborate, substantiate, adduce, attest, authenticate, certify, identify, demonstrate, display, illustrate, manifest

Related Entry: Shoot at (phrase)

Shoot at is a different word from Shoot. The synonyms below are for shoot at, not for shoot.

  1. to make an effort to do

    "Let's shoot at a 6:30 arrival."

    similar: assay, attempt, endeavor, essay, seek, strive, try, have a go at, try one's hand (at)
    related: fight, strain, struggle, toil, trouble, work, aim, aspire, hope, assume, take up, undertake
    near: drop, give up, quit

Related Entry: Shoot the breeze (phrase)

Shoot the breeze is a different word from Shoot. The synonyms below are for shoot the breeze, not for shoot.

  1. to engage in casual or rambling conversation

    "The kids were shooting the breeze before the assembly."

    similar: babble, blab, cackle, chaffer (British), chat, chatter, chin (slang), converse, gab, gabble, gas, jabber, jaw, kibitz, natter, palaver, patter, prate, prattle, rap, rattle, run on, schmooze, talk, twitter, visit, blow smoke, chew the fat, talk a blue streak
    related: gossip, tattle, descant, discuss, expatiate, yak, yammer, yap

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Shoot

The most common words with a similar meaning to Shoot:

Slang: bomb
Archaic: expire
blast, discharge, fire, loose, squeeze off, drill, gun, plug, pop, barrel, belt, blaze, blow, bolt, bowl, breeze, bundle, bustle, buzz, cannonball, careen, career, chase, course, crack (on), dash, drive, fly, hare, hasten, hie, highball, hotfoot (it), hump, hurl, hurry, hurtle, hustle, jet, jump

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Shoot

Words with the opposite meaning of Shoot:

crawl, creep, poke, accept, receive

Related Words for Shoot

launch, project, blaze (at), snipe (at), catapult, fling, heave, lob, pitch, sling, throw, toss, plink, potshot, snipe, blow away, bring down, drop, pick off, shoot down, blast (at), fire (at), pistol, shotgun, machine-gun, tommy-gun, croak, destroy, do in, fell

Near Antonyms of Shoot

dally, dawdle, dillydally, drag, hang (around or out), lag, linger, loiter, tarry, amble, lumber, plod, saunter, shuffle, stroll, decelerate, slow (down or up), absorb, inhale, soak (up), sponge, suck (up), take up, belt up, clam up, dummy up, hush, shut up, suppress, quiet

Word Forms of Shoot

Inflections: shot, shooting

Origin & Etymology of Shoot

Middle English sheten, shoten, shuten, from Old English scēotan; akin to Old Norse skjōta to shoot

First known use: before 12th centuryt

Words & Phrases Containing Shoot

shoot at, shoot down, shoot-'em-up, shoot from the hip, shoot one's bolt

Frequently Asked Questions about Shoot

What does "Shoot" mean?

"Shoot" means to eject or impel or cause to be ejected or impelled by a sudden release of tension (as of a bowstring or slingshot or by a flick of a finger). As an a verb, a noun and an interjection, it is defined as: to eject or impel or cause to be ejected or impelled by a sudden release of tension (as of a bowstring or slingshot or by a flick of a finger). It has 11 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Shoot"?

Other words for "Shoot" include blast, discharge, fire, loose, squeeze off, drill, gun and plug. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Shoot" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Shoot"?

There are 297 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Shoot". Common alternatives include blast, discharge, fire, loose, squeeze off, drill, gun, plug, pop and barrel.

What is the opposite of "Shoot"?

Antonyms of "Shoot" include crawl, creep, poke, accept and receive. Near antonyms include dally, dawdle, dillydally and drag.

How do you use "Shoot" in a sentence?

Examples of "Shoot" in a sentence: "BB guns shoot small round metal pellets"; "soldiers train extensively to learn to shoot accurately and quickly"; "hunters can shoot deer only during the legally specified open season".

Is "Shoot" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Shoot" can be used as a verb, a noun and an interjection, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Shoot"?

"Shoot" is pronounced /ˈshüt/.

What is the origin of the word "Shoot"?

"Shoot" comes from Middle English sheten, shoten, shuten, from Old English scēotan; akin to Old Norse skjōta to shoot. First known use: before 12th centuryt.