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

One police officer was injured in the shooting and taken to a nearby hospital, per Atlanta police. —Greg Hanlon, People.com, 8 Aug. 2025

Authorities say Radford used a personal handgun in the shootings. —Russ Bynum and Jeff Martin The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 8 Aug. 2025

Law enforcement vehicles are parked at the scene where Michael Paul Brown, suspect in a shooting at a Montana bar that left four people dead, was apprehended on Friday, outside of Anaconda, Montana. —Peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Aug. 2025

Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll highlighted acts of heroism made by soldiers at Fort Stewart during a shooting at the base on Thursday. —Anders Hagstrom, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2025

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