as in to attack
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
The comic ended the show with a rant in which he potshot an assortment of celebrities.
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Recent Examples of potshot
Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 12 Nov. 2025
No, Sean Payton wasn’t throwing a stray potshot at his special teams coordinator.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 3 Nov. 2025
As evidenced by this weekend’s flurry of festivities around its 50th anniversary, SNL has survived all the potshots.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Taking a potshot is a 90-day misdemeanor, plus fines.
—Neal Rubin, Freep.com, 6 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for potshot
Noun
No one takes potshots at Washington or Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin, the usual lineup of Founding Fathers.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 12 Nov. 2025
No, Sean Payton wasn’t throwing a stray potshot at his special teams coordinator.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 3 Nov. 2025
As evidenced by this weekend’s flurry of festivities around its 50th anniversary, SNL has survived all the potshots.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Taking a potshot is a 90-day misdemeanor, plus fines.
—Neal Rubin, Freep.com, 6 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for potshot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for potshot
Verb
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Vance, asked by a reporter about the criticism from the Israeli government, singled out Israeli Cabinet officials who have attacked the deal, saying Netanyahu has not shared the same opposition in the vice president's conversations with him.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
19 June 2026
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After the good Samaritan got him off the woman, witnesses say the man wandered to produce and began attacking a 16-year-old boy, but Garbe had followed him.—
Joy Benedict,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
The opening salvo, a Paraguay own-goal that resulted from the fancy attacking footwork of the team’s two brightest international lights, Pulisic, of AC Milan, and McKennie, of Juventus, happened within the first seven minutes of the game.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
13 June 2026
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Google has announced a new legal salvo aimed at a Chinese group called Outsider Enterprise, which is allegedly responsible for a massive AI-powered scam campaign.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
12 June 2026
Verb
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In Santa Clara, the letter said, a woman on mental health diversion for carjacking proceeded to steal another car and slam it into an outside table at a restaurant, leaving one person dead and others injured.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
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The bomber was in the air a very short time before slamming into the ground about halfway down the runway.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
For most first ladies, the barrage softens or dissipates considerably after their husband leaves his tenure as commander in chief.—
Jennifer Hassan,
USA Today,
15 June 2026
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Surely that painful lesson helped Brunson weather the Spurs barrages.—
Sean Woods,
Rolling Stone,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
Someone else scolds the offender.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
16 June 2026
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This time, however, Charlotte promptly scolded him for his untoward behavior.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
13 June 2026
Noun
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Lopes notably threw himself in front of a Mikel Oyarzabal volley with just moments to go, a prime example of the back-four’s commitment to defend their goal.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
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Al-Owais made another save on a close-range header, but Arujuo, who plays for Portugal’s Sporting CP, scored on a volley for Uruguay’s sole goal of the night.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
16 June 2026
Verb
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Outrage became loud when the night's heavyweight champion, Josh Hokit, insulted former first lady Michelle Obama to host Joe Rogan moments after winning his fight.—
Leigh Blickley,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 June 2026
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The two-minute trailer includes a recreation of the famous sailor-kissing-a-nurse photo from V-J Day, a woman insulting David’s butter churning, some trench warfare repartee about the looks of a soldier’s love back at home, the Boston Tea Party, and jokes about child labor.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
11 June 2026
Noun
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Iran’s military said the fusillade was a warning.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
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Every stentorian chord became a hammer blow, flourishes intensified into fusillades, a tense pause into an apocalypse.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Potshot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potshot. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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