take a shot

idiom

1

: to fire a gun

He took a shot and missed.

—often + at

He took a shot at the deer.

2

: to try to hit

—+ at

She took a shot at me with a snowball but missed.

3

: to propel a ball or puck toward a goal

He took a shot and scored.

4

: to make a critical or hurtful remark about someone

—+ at

They took shots at each other throughout the debate.

5

: to attempt to do something successfully

—often + at

Take a shot at the math problem.

I never changed a tire before, but I'll take a shot at it.

6

informal : to photograph something

—often + of

Be sure to take a shot of the house.

Examples of take a shot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

So when looking at the rest of the conference landscape, why wouldn’t the veteran Warriors take a shot at making some noise in the postseason? —Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2026

Back then, photographers asked permission to take a shot. —CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026

Worse yet, Pegula decided to take a shot at wide receiver Keon Coleman. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2026

That play was designed to lead to the check-down options, not necessarily take a shot down the field. —Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 24 Dec. 2025

Rhymes for take a shot

• aeronaut
• aforethought
• afterthought
• apricot
• argonaut
• astronaut
• camelot
• coffeepot
• concordat
• cosmonaut
• entrepot
• flowerpot