shooting

noun

shoot·​ing ˈshü-tiŋ 

plural shootings

1

: the act of shooting a gun

But shooting is many a man's choice, especially up at the great hunting clubs like Choctaw Bluff …

—Harriet de Rosišre

2

: an instance of gun violence directed toward a person or group of people

a drive-by shooting

mass shootings

… a clutch of outspoken student activists flipped the national script on school shootings in America.

—Dahlia Lithwick

3

: the act of photographing or filming someone or something

A large fan specially designed to create the effect of wind during shooting.

—Ira Konigsberg

That part of filmmaking that comes immediately after the shooting is completed …

—Ira Konigsberg

Examples of shooting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Though the World Cup avoided issues with ICE raids at stadiums, the agency this summer has been responsible for shootings that killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine. — Barry Svrluga, New York Times, 24 July 2026

Gray's trial had been scheduled to start in mid-October in Columbia County, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from where the shooting happened, after the judge agreed to a defense request for a change of venue. — ABC News, 24 July 2026

Surveillance footage shows the three men entering the Mercedes-Benz the night of the shooting, the statements said. — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 24 July 2026

The race of the victim and the officer from Wednesday’s shooting have not been disclosed. — Julianna Bragg, CNN Money, 23 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing shooting

• go shooting
• hip-shooting
• shooting gallery
• shooting guard
• shooting iron
• shooting script
• shooting star
• shooting stick
• skeet shooting
• the whole shooting match
• wing shooting

Rhymes for shooting

• booting
• fluting
• fruiting
• hooting
• looting
• muting
• rooting
• scooting
• suiting
• tooting
• commuting
• computing

Medical Definition

shooting

adjective

shoot·​ing

: characterized by sudden sharp piercing sensations

shooting pains