cheap shot

noun

Definition of cheap shot

1 : an act of deliberate roughness against a defenseless opponent especially in a contact sport taking cheap shots at the quarterback

2 : a critical statement that takes unfair advantage of a known weakness of the target

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Examples of cheap shot in a Sentence

He took a cheap shot at the quarterback. a cheap shot to the back of the head The remark about his weight was a cheap shot.

Recent Examples on the Web

Even the foibles of an extremely privileged community such as Greenwich, ripe for cheap shots, aren’t overplayed. — John Donvan, WSJ, "‘The Class’ Review: Science-Fair Conﬁdential," 16 Dec. 2018 Plus, Michelle Obama took a cheap shot at President Trump last night. — Fox News, "Rep. Ron DeSantis on the fight to get info from the DOJ," 6 Apr. 2018 Of course, there was the punch to Jose Bautista's jaw in 2016 that everyone in Canada thought was a cheap shot while it was mostly cheered by Odor's and Baustista's peers. — Jeff Wilson, star-telegram, "Rangers Reaction: The flawed thinking of those miffed by Banister's comments," 3 June 2018 The comments — a cheap shot about Hogg’s college rejection — quickly sparked outcry, with at least 18 advertisers pulling their spots from the host’s show, according to Media Matters. — Kyle Swenson, Washington Post, "From crack cocaine to Mar-a-Lago: The unusual journey of the MyPillow man," 6 Apr. 2018 But unlike radio and newspaper gossip commentator Winchell and his imitators, Smith succeeded with kindness and an aversion to cheap shots. — Sam Dangremond, Town & Country, "Legendary Gossip Columnist Liz Smith Dies at 94," 13 Nov. 2017 That's what he should be questioned about, not these other questions which are just cheap shots in the bushes. — Fox News, "Ex-DOJ attorney: Rosenstein should have already been fired," 12 Apr. 2018 Allen's on the on-the-court cheap shots are an issue. — Peter Dawson, star-telegram, "2018 NBA Mock Draft 1.0: Mavs take forward at No. 5, controversial Duke guard | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 4 Apr. 2018 Snobbish Europeans sometimes can’t resist a cheap shot against such targets. — Rondi Adamson, WSJ, "A Guide to Overcoming European Rudeness," 19 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cheap shot.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.