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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Just attacking everything with strikes.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
11 June 2026
-
Police in the northwest Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights have released a sketch of a man accused of attacking and choking a woman this past weekend.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
11 June 2026
Noun
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Thursday’s threat was the final salvo of an active stretch of storms that has produced over 1,000 reports of hail, damaging wind and tornadoes in the region since Sunday.—
Mary Gilbert,
CNN Money,
11 June 2026
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The opening salvo came on July 1, 2025.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
11 June 2026
Verb
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The actor previously slammed Bass for leaving the country on a trip to Ghana as the blazes erupted.—
Ashley Hume , Larry Fink,
FOXNews.com,
10 June 2026
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Critics slammed the most expensive tickets in World Cup history and dynamic pricing, which adjusts prices according to demand.—
Eduard Cauich,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
Noun
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Three bystanders — Yamile Martinez, 21; Johntaya Alexander, 21; and Melinda Davis, 57, also were killed in the seconds after the shooting started, unable to escape the barrage.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
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
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Additionally, in March 2024, Goldberg sprung up from her seat to scold a disruptive audience member who was recording the telecast with his phone.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Dec. 2025
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Feeling the woman cupping his private area, the artist kneeled down and appeared to scold her, telling her to stop.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
25 Nov. 2025
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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Sacramento County prosecutors on Monday pressed their theory that Payton and Martin were involved in a shootout with rival gang members on the downtown street corner rather than defending themselves from a spontaneous volley of gunfire as nightclubs closed April 3, 2022.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
15 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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There is one other person who is insulting Bregman’s performance.—
Jeff Vorva,
Chicago Tribune,
9 June 2026
Noun
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In retaliation, the Houthis launched a fusillade of ballistic missiles at the Truman, which turned tail and steamed away, causing another Super Hornet to slide off the deck into the ocean.—
Seth Harp,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
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As Ukraine marked another year of independence, Vladimir Putin responded with one of the worst fusillades of missiles since his unprovoked full-scale war of aggression began over three years ago.—
Oleksandra Matviichuk,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Potshot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potshot. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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