<B>shot</B> (1), noun, pl. <B>shots</B> or (for 2) <B>shot</B> or <B>shots,</B> verb, <B>shotted,</B> <B>shotting.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>the discharge as of a gun, cannon, or bow. <BR> <I>Ex. to fire a shot. He heard two shots.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>the act of shooting. <BR> <I>Ex. ... taken without shot or slaughter (Charles Kingsley).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>what is discharged in shooting: <DD><B> a. </B>tiny balls of lead or steel; bullets. <BR> <I>Ex. Storm'd at with shot and shell (Tennyson).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a single ball of lead or steel for a gun or cannon. <DD><B> c. </B>tiny balls or pellets of lead, of which a number are combined in one charge, used chiefly in shotguns. <DD><B> d. </B>one such ball or pellet. <DD><B> 3a. </B>an attempt to hit by shooting. <BR> <I>Ex. That was a good shot, and it hit the mark.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) a remark aimed at some person or thing. <BR> <I>Ex. The speaker ... presently delivered a shot which went home, and silence and attention resulted (Mark Twain). Porter's article about Utica's political aberration ... contains one omission and two cheap shots which call for a response (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 4a. </B>the distance a weapon can shoot, or to which a missile will go; range. <BR> <I>Ex. We were within rifle shot of the fort.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>the range or reach of anything like a shot. <BR> <I>Ex. Beyond the shot of tyranny (Shelley). Out of the shot and danger of desire (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>a person who shoots, especially with a firearm. <BR> <I>Ex. He is a good shot.</I> (SYN) marksman. <DD><B> 6. </B>an aimed stroke or throw, or a scoring attempt in billiards, hockey, or various other games. <DD><B> 7. </B>anything like a shot; something emitted, cast, launched or set off, such as a nuclear bomb or spacecraft. <BR> <I>Ex. After the fourteenth shot, no more Nevada tests are contemplated (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 8. </B>(Informal.) <DD><B> a. </B>a dose of a drug in the form of an injection. <BR> <I>Ex. a typhoid shot. A polio shot is an injection of vaccine to protect against getting polio.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a dose, as of medicine. <DD><B> 9. </B>(Informal.) one drink, usually a jigger, of alcoholic liquor. <BR> <I>Ex. a shot of whiskey.</I> <DD><B> 10a. </B>an attempt or try. <BR> <I>Ex. to take a shot at the job.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>a random guess. (SYN) conjecture. <DD><B> c. </B>a bet; chance. <BR> <I>Ex. A 34-1 shot named Sky Clipper beat Bally Ache in a photo finish (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 11a. </B>a picture taken with a camera; photograph; snapshot. <BR> <I>Ex. Last week, a visitor ... took a shot of a squirrel, a close-up with a tiny Japanese camera (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>the motion-picture or television record of a scene. <BR> <I>Ex. For the final shot [the director] said: "I want you with your eyes staring open as ... your dead hand beckons the man" (Newsweek).</I> <DD><B> c. </B>the taking of a picture. <DD><B> 12. </B>a heavy metal ball, usually weighing 16 pounds, used in the shot-put. <DD><B> 13. </B>in mining: <DD><B> a. </B>a blast. <DD><B> b. </B>the charge of powder sufficient for a blast. <DD><B> 14. </B>an amount due or to be paid, especially at a tavern, or one's share in such payment. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to load with shot; furnish with shot. <BR> <I>Ex. Her [a ship's] shotted guns were discharging (Scott).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to weigh by attaching a shot or shots. <DD><B> 3. </B>to attempt; try. <BR><I>expr. <B>call the shots</B> (or <B>one's shot</B>), (Informal.) <DD><B> a. </B>to control the proceedings or outcome; direct; manage. </I> <I>Ex. He let the Republicans call the shots, but when the hearings opened ... he put the responsibility on their shoulders (Atlantic).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>to state what will happen or is happening. <BR> <I>Ex. Southern editors who ... call their shots as they see them (Time).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>like a shot,</B> </I>at once; with great rapidity. <BR> <I>Ex. If anybody can suggest to me anything else that I can do--I'll do it like a shot (Arnold Bennett).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>not by a long shot.</B> </I>See under <B>long shot.</B> <BR><I>expr. <B>put the shot,</B> </I>to send a heavy metal ball as far as one can with one push. <BR> <I>Ex. to put the shot in an athletic contest.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>shot in the arm,</B> </I>(Informal.) something that stimulates or revives; incentive; spur. <BR> <I>Ex. As a shot in the arm for industry, there could be generous investment allowances (Sunday Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>shot in the dark,</B> </I>(Informal.) a guess based upon little or no evidence; wild guess. <BR> <I>Ex. [He] really had no facts of any substance. ... His innuendos about "covering up" were mere shots in the dark (Blair Fraser).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>stand shot,</B> </I>to meet the expense; pay the bill. <BR> <I>Ex. Are you going to stand shot to all this good liquor? (Scott).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="shot">
<B>shot</B> (2), verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>verb </I> the past tense and past participle of <B>shoot.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. Many years ago he shot a rival and was himself shot in revenge.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1a. </B>woven or dyed so as to show a play of colors. <BR> <I>Ex. blue silk shot with gold.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>variable, as a color; changeable. <DD><B> 2. </B>that has grown or sprouted, as a stalk or blade. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Slang, Figurative.) that has been used up, worn out, or ruined. <BR> <I>Ex. The game was shot for the Brooks in the third [inning] (New York Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>shot through with,</B> </I>full of. <BR> <I>Ex. a composition shot through with errors, speeches shot through with wit. It was an immense ... rabbit warren shot through with a network of narrow paths (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="shotborer">
<B>shot borer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small beetle which bores many minute holes in trees; pin borer. </DL>
<A NAME="shotcartridge">
<B>shot cartridge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a cartridge containing shot instead of a bullet. </DL>
<A NAME="shote">
<B>shote, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a young weaned pig; shoat. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Dialect.) a thriftless, worthless person. </DL>
<A NAME="shotfire">
<B>shotfire, </B>intransitive verb, <B>-fired,</B> <B>-firing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Mining.) to fire a blasting charge. <BR> <I>Ex. As detonator and high-explosive are embedded in the borehole, shotfiring can be done entirely by electrical means (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="shotfirer">
<B>shotfirer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a miner who fires blasting charges. </DL>
<B>shotgun, </B>noun, adjective, verb, <B>-gunned,</B> <B>-gunning.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a gun with no grooves in its barrel, for firing cartridges filled with bird shot or buckshot. It is used for killing birds and small mammals. <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>(Informal.) random; haphazard; hit-or-miss. <BR> <I>Ex. shotgun recommendations. The Virgin Lands campaign was a shotgun attempt to grow wheat on the cheap (Time).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S.) long; boxlike. <BR> <I>Ex. a shotgun house, building, or cabin. The typical "shotgun" shack is made of unpainted board (New York Times).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to shoot with a shotgun. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) The destroyer hunted back and forth, shotgunning depth charges left and right (Time).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S. Informal.) to force, as into a shotgun marriage. <BR> <I>Ex. We distinguish between grooms who marry brides of their own choice and those who are shotgunned into marriage (Scientific American).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>ride shotgun,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to ride on a vehicle as an armed guard or escort. </I> <I>Ex. I saw an Australian soldier and I asked him to jump in with me and ride shotgun until we got to the American military police (Frank Palmos).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(Slang.) to accompany as a passenger in a vehicle, especially in a car or truck. <BR> <I>Ex. The driver picked up a hitchhiker who rode shotgun clear across the country.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="shotgunmarriage">
<B>shotgun marriage</B> or <B>wedding,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Informal.) a forced marriage or wedding, as to save honor or reputation. </DL>
<A NAME="shotgunmicrophone">
<B>shotgun microphone,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a microphone that can pick up and amplify very faint sounds. </DL>
<A NAME="shothole">
<B>shot hole,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a hole made by a gunshot. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Mining.) a hole drilled in rock to insert an explosive charge. </DL>
<A NAME="shotmetal">
<B>shot metal,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an impure form of lead containing two percent of arsenic, used for making shot for cartridges. </DL>
<A NAME="shotproof">
<B>shot-proof, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> proof against shot. <BR> <I>Ex. An enormous vessel, with shot-proof bulwarks (John L. Motley).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="shotput">
<B>shot-put, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an athletic contest in which a person sends a heavy metal ball through the air as far as he can with one push. </DL>
<A NAME="shotputter">
<B>shot-putter, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who puts the shot in athletic contests. </DL>
<A NAME="shott">
<B>shott, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a shallow, saline lake or marsh in northern Africa, usually dry in the summer and filled with deposits of salt, gypsum, and sand. Also, <B>chott.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="shotten">
<B>shotten, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>that has recently spawned. <BR> <I>Ex. a shotten herring.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) exhausted; worthless. </DL>
<A NAME="shottower">
<B>shot tower,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a high tower for making small shot by dropping molten lead from the top into water at the bottom. </DL>
