take a shot
idiom
1
: to fire a gun
He took a shot and missed.
—often + atHe 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
And a stack of Billy Joel sheet music sits atop my piano today (for you keyboard artists, take a shot at Prelude/Angry Young Man sometime).
—
Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Mullins likely wouldn't require a top-20 prospect in the Mets' system, so New York could part ways with one or two lower-level talents to take a shot on the struggling veteran.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 July 2025
Mostert wasn’t the first player to take a shot at Dolphins culture in recent years.
—C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 30 June 2025
Taking a view on these big trends, in a specific location, as well as a more subjective view on the risks/quality of the asset itself, allows investors to then take a shot at projecting each revenue and expense line item for the next 10 years and price an asset accordingly.
—Thibault Adrien, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for take a shot
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Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Mullins likely wouldn't require a top-20 prospect in the Mets' system, so New York could part ways with one or two lower-level talents to take a shot on the struggling veteran.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 July 2025
Mostert wasn’t the first player to take a shot at Dolphins culture in recent years.
—C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 30 June 2025
Taking a view on these big trends, in a specific location, as well as a more subjective view on the risks/quality of the asset itself, allows investors to then take a shot at projecting each revenue and expense line item for the next 10 years and price an asset accordingly.
—Thibault Adrien, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for take a shot
Cite this Entry
“Take a shot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20a%20shot. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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