long shot

noun \ ˈlȯŋ-ˌshät \

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Examples: long shot in a Sentence

Definition of long shot

1 : a venture involving great risk but promising a great reward if successful; also : a venture unlikely to succeed

2 : an entry (as in a horse race) given little chance of winning

3 : a bet in which the chances of winning are slight but the possible winnings great

— by a long shot

: by a great deal

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Examples of long shot in a Sentence

I hope to double my profits, but I know that's a long shot.
The horse was a long shot, but we bet on him anyway.
She always bets on long shots at the racetrack.

Recent Examples of long shot from the Web

Brook, a former Bloomfield Hills school board member, is a long shot, trying to score a win despite lacking funds and name recognition.

— todd spangler, Detroit Free Press, "Andy Levin looks to take dad Sander Levin's seat in Congress," 13 July 2018
If the ultimate goal of North Korean denuclearization seems like a long shot, his proximate goal, according to one senior administration official, is at least to get North Korean officials to reveal their true intentions fairly quickly.

— gardiner harris, BostonGlobe.com, "Pompeo arrives in North Korea to try to curb its nuclear program," 6 July 2018
Quintero Takes a Shot Juan Quintero gets another long shot off, and this time at least gets his meek shot on goal.

— andrew das, New York Times, "England Shakes Its Shootout Curse and Saves Its World Cup," 5 July 2018
Ocasio-Cortez was a long shot, running against the man projected to be the next House Speaker—someone who had held his seat for the last 19 years.

— yohana desta, HWD, "The Establishment Didn’t Think Ocasio-Cortez Could Win—But This Documentary Filmmaker Did," 29 June 2018
One long shot scenario disappeared by midafternoon when the Kings leaked they were locked into drafting Marvin Bagley III with the second pick.

— k.c. johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Bulls take Duke big man Wendell Carter Jr. with 7th pick in NBA draft," 21 June 2018
That’s admittedly a long shot since Microsoft is less focused on its own hardware right now.

— ian paul, PCWorld, "Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet is just $500 right now at Office Depot, a 50% discount," 3 May 2018
Kansas State got the game back within long shot range when Kamau Stokes’ three-pointer got it back within 15 with 6:10 left, then cut it to 64-52 at the four-minute mark.

— dan wolken, USA TODAY, "NCAA tournament: No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago rolls past Kansas State for trip to Final Four," 24 Mar. 2018
But a long shot maker from three levels with defensive versatility can be a real difference maker -- if that guy is engaged and aggressive.

— cleveland.com, "How Keita Bates-Diop got Ohio State here: Buckeyes basketball analysis," 6 Feb. 2018

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

First Known Use of long shot

1796

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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LONG SHOT Defined for English Language Learners

long shot

noun

Definition of long shot for English Language Learners

: an attempt or effort that is not likely to be successful
: a person or thing that is not likely to win something (such as a contest or race)

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