active shooter
noun
plural active shooters
: a person who is illegally using a firearm to kill or try to kill people especially in a public place : a person who is shooting at people
Stunned shoppers and mall employees initially mistook the sound of glass breaking for gunshots, leading to false rumors of an active shooter.—
Caitlin Antonios
Caitlin Antoniosactive shooter drills
Examples of active shooter in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On Monday alone, at least six universities reported active shooter alerts.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2025
The fake active shooter reports came amid a nationwide wave of similar calls targeting universities in recent weeks.
—Davis Winkie, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2025
While the vast majority of schools now hold them, there are no uniform regulations for lockdown and active shooter drills.
—Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
That can be an active shooter call, bomb threat or any other violent crime.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for active shooter
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.
Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2025
The fake active shooter reports came amid a nationwide wave of similar calls targeting universities in recent weeks.
—Davis Winkie, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2025
While the vast majority of schools now hold them, there are no uniform regulations for lockdown and active shooter drills.
—Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2025
That can be an active shooter call, bomb threat or any other violent crime.
—Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for active shooter
Cite this Entry
“Active shooter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/active%20shooter. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share