sharpshooter
noun
sharp·shoot·er
ˈshärp-ˌshü-tər 
plural sharpshooters
1
: a person who is highly skilled in shooting a weapon (such as a rifle) at a mark or target
a police sharpshooter
Determined to prevent any attempt on Lincoln's life, General Winfield Scott had placed sharpshooters on the roofs of buildings along the avenue …—
David Herbert Donald
David Herbert Donald2
sports
: a consistently accurate shooter (as in basketball)
A 6' 9" sharpshooter who several NBA scouts predict will be a first-round pick …—Tim Crothers
Tim Crothers3
: any of various large leafhoppers that have powerful hind legs with spines on the tibia
The sharpshooter uses a needlelike mouthpart to suck fluids from trees and plants. As it goes from one to the next, it spreads diseases that can wipe out orange groves and other crops.—Carl Zimmer
Carl ZimmerIn Temecula, disease-carrying sharpshooters have turned some vineyards into wastelands.—Steve Schmidt
Steve SchmidtExamples of sharpshooter in a Sentence
the police stationed sharpshooters on rooftops all along the route of the presidential motorcade
Recent Examples on the Web
Fredette, 36, gained fame as a sharpshooter at BYU, where he was named college basketball’s player of the year in 2011 after leading the nation in scoring at 28.9 points per game.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Beasley, a vaunted sharpshooter who finished just one triple behind Anthony Edwards for the NBA’s three-point crown this season, began the possession guarded by Miles McBride.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 20 Apr. 2025
The key to being a sharpshooter is sticking to repetition even when everything is falling short.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2025
The Timberwolves were missing two key sharpshooters in Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid, after both were slapped with suspensions for spilling into the stands in the T-wolves’ Sunday night smackdown with the Detroit Pistons.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 1 Apr. 2025
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Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Beasley, a vaunted sharpshooter who finished just one triple behind Anthony Edwards for the NBA’s three-point crown this season, began the possession guarded by Miles McBride.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 20 Apr. 2025
The key to being a sharpshooter is sticking to repetition even when everything is falling short.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2025
The Timberwolves were missing two key sharpshooters in Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid, after both were slapped with suspensions for spilling into the stands in the T-wolves’ Sunday night smackdown with the Detroit Pistons.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 1 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sharpshooter
Cite this Entry
“Sharpshooter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sharpshooter. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sharpshooter
noun
sharp·shoot·er
ˈshärp-ˌshüt-ər
: one skilled in shooting : a good marksman
sharpshooting
noun
-ˌshüt-iŋ
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