1
: a battle fought with handguns or rifles
2
: something resembling a shoot-out
broadly : showdown
3
: a shooting competition in overtime that is used to determine the winner of a game (as in soccer or hockey) tied at the end of regular play

Examples of shoot-out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As they near the island, Jun-ho finds Park Gyeong-seok (Lee Jin-wook), or Player 246, in the middle of a shoot-out at sea and saves him. Yasmeen Hamadeh, People.com, 27 June 2025 On June 26, 1975, Agents Williams and Coler were at the reservation to serve warrants for robbery and assault, according to the F.B.I., when a shoot-out ensued. Nick Estes, New Yorker, 26 June 2025 With music and lyrics by David Yazbek and Erik Della Penna, and a book by Itamar Moses, Dead Outlaw tells the strange-but-true tale of Elmer McCurdy, a bank robber killed in a shoot-out in 1911. Greg Evans, Deadline, 20 June 2025 Any film whose story is told through typically violent spectacle, including fights, chases, explosions, shoot-outs, and other stuntwork. Joe Reid, Vulture, 28 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for shoot-out

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shoot-out was in 1948

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Cite this Entry

“Shoot-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoot-out. Accessed 7 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

shoot-out

noun
ˈshüt-ˌau̇t
: a battle fought with handguns or rifles
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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