shooting

1 of 2

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

shooting

2 of 2

present participle of shoot entry 1

Examples of shooting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Even Stephen Curry, who transformed himself into an NBA all-time great through endless lonely work on his shooting, had recently asked Tiafoe the question in a casual chat. — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Erik Menendez and his brother, Lyle, serving life terms for the 1989 fatal shootings of their parents in the family's Beverly Hills mansion, had their parole hearing moved up 17 months, although authorities didn't say why. — Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2026

The controversy comes nearly one year after a major dust-up that led ABC to temporarily bench Kimmel for comments on his show about the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026

Ryan remembers one student who returned to the school after the shooting to retrieve her backpack. — Brian Maass, CBS News, 10 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

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