shoot (shoots plural & 3rd person present) (shooting present participle) (shot past tense & past participle )
1 verb If someone shoots a person or an animal, they kill them or injure them by firing a bullet or arrow at them.
The police had orders to shoot anyone who attacked them... V n
The man was shot dead by the police during a raid on his house... V n with adj
Her father shot himself in the head with a shotgun. V n in n
2 verb To shoot means to fire a bullet from a weapon such as a gun.
He taunted armed officers by pointing to his head, as if inviting them to shoot... V
The police came around the corner and they started shooting at us... V at n
She had never been able to shoot straight... V adv/prep
3 verb If someone or something shoots in a particular direction, they move in that direction quickly and suddenly.
They had almost reached the boat when a figure shot past them... V adv/prep
4 verb If you shoot something somewhere or if it shoots somewhere, it moves there quickly and suddenly.
Masters shot a hand across the table and gripped his wrist... V n prep/adv
You'd turn on the water, and it would shoot straight up in the air. V adv/prep
5 verb If you shoot a look at someone, you look at them quickly and briefly, often in a way that expresses your feelings.
Mary Ann shot him a rueful look... V n n
The man in the black overcoat shot a penetrating look at the other man. V n at n
6 verb If someone shootsto fame, they become famous or successful very quickly.
Alina Reyes shot to fame a few years ago with her extraordinary first novel... V to n
7 verb When people shoot a film or shoot photographs, they make a film or take photographs using a camera.
He'd love to shoot his film in Cuba... V n
Shoot is also a noun., n-count
...a barn presently being used for a video shoot.
8 n-count Shoots are plants that are beginning to grow, or new parts growing from a plant or tree.
usu pl
9 verb In sports such as football or basketball, when someone shoots, they try to score by kicking, throwing, or hitting the ball towards the goal.
Spencer scuttled away from Young to shoot wide when he should have scored... V adv/prep
11 If you shoot the breeze or shoot the bullwith someone, you talk to them about things which are not very serious or important.
(mainly AM)
INFORMAL
shoot the breeze/shoot the bull phrase V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n V
They expected me to sit up and shoot the breeze with them till one or two in the morning..., I also met with Pollack again to kind of shoot the bull.
12
→
to shoot from the hip
→
hip shoot down
1 phrasal verb If someone shoots down an aeroplane, a helicopter, or a missile, they make it fall to the ground by hitting it with a bullet or missile.
They claimed to have shot down one incoming missile... V P n (not pron)
2 phrasal verb If one person shoots down another, they shoot them with a gun.
He was prepared to suppress rebellion by shooting down protesters... V P n (not pron)
They shot him down in cold blood. V n P
3 phrasal verb If you shoot someone down or shoot down their ideas, you say or show that they are completely wrong.
She was able to shoot the rumour down in flames with ample documentary evidence. V n P, Also V P n (not pron) shoot up
1 phrasal verb If something shoots up, it grows or increases very quickly.
Sales shot up by 9% last month... V P by/to n
The fair market value of the property shot up. V P
2 phrasal verb If a drug addict shoots up, they inject a quantity of drugs into their body. INFORMAL Drug addicts shoot up in the back alleys... V P We shot up heroin in the playground. V P n (not pron)
penalty shoot-out (penalty shoot-outs plural )In football, a penalty shoot-out is a way of deciding the result of a game that has ended in a draw. Players from each team try to score a goal in turn until one player fails to score and their team loses the game.
(mainly BRIT) n-count
photo shoot (photo shoots plural ), photo-shoot A photo shoot is an occasion when a photographer takes pictures, especially of models or famous people, to be used in a newspaper or magazine. n-count
...a long day of interviews and photo-shoots.
shoot-em-up (shoot-em-ups plural )A shoot-em-up is a computer game that involves shooting and killing characters.
INFORMAL n-count
shoot-out (shoot-outs plural )
1 n-count A shoot-out is a fight in which people shoot at each other with guns.
Three IRA men were killed in the shoot-out.
2 n-count In games such as football, a shoot-out or a penaltyshoot-out is a way of deciding the result of a game that has ended in a draw. Players from each team try to score a goal in turn until one player fails to score and their team loses the game.
The Danes won that UEFA tie in a shoot-out.
