shoot
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To fire a projectile at.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
shootIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈʃut
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To fire (a weapon that releases a projectile).
transitive
To fire a projectile at (a person or target).
To launch (forcefully project) a projectile.
intransitive
To cause a weapon to discharge a projectile.
Fire a shot
intransitive
To hunt birds, etc. with a gun.
noun
The act of shooting; the discharge of a missile; a shot.
A rush of water; a rapid.
An inclined plane, either artificial or natural, down which timber, coal, ore, etc., are caused to slide; a chute.
A seismic survey carried out with geophones in an attempt to detect oil.
The emerging stem and embryonic leaves of a new plant.
A photography session.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To fire (a weapon that releases a projectile).
Used this way, shoot is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- fritter , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use shoot
- “Please shoot me an email if you have any questions about the project.”verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.