verb

shoot

verb

To fire a weapon, or to hit someone or something with a projectile from one.

"The soldier shot at the target from a hundred metres away."

"He was shot in the leg during the robbery."

To film or photograph something.

"They shot the whole movie on location in Iceland."

To move very fast or suddenly in a direction.

"The car shot past us on the motorway."

"Pain shot up his arm when he touched the wire."

noun

A new stem or sprout growing from a plant.

"Tiny green shoots pushed up through the soil after the rain."

A session of filming or photography.

"The magazine shoot took all afternoon."

intj

A mild exclamation of annoyance or disappointment.

""Shoot, I forgot my keys again.""

How to Use Shoot

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo fire a weapon or send something fast, to film/photograph, or (as a noun) a plant sprout or filming session.

Common mistake

Don't confuse the plant "shoot" (a sprout) with "chute" (a sloped channel) — they sound alike but mean very different things.

Easily confused with

chute →

Common pairings

shoot a film new shoots shoot straight

Word Forms

shot past tense, shotten past tense, shooted past tense, shoot plural, shot plural, shooted plural, shoots plural, shoots singular, shoot singular, shot singular, shooted singular, shootest singular, shootedst singular, shotst singular, shooteth singular, shottest singular

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

Tiny green _____ pushed up through the soil after the rain.

Etymology

From Old English scēotan ("to shoot, throw"), from an ancient Germanic root meaning to hurl or launch quickly.

Rhymes for shoot

oot foot boot root moot loot coot hoot toot soot doot zoot

See all rhymes for shoot →