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
Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
Soon, the pair are playing long-distance chess, air drumming, and taking competitive potshots at one another’s dishware.
—Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
Instead Trump has taken verbal potshots at California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and President Biden, suggesting their actions are to blame for the failure to contain the fires.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 8 Jan. 2025
New Hampshire’s lower chamber has four hundred people, nearly double the second-largest state legislature in the country, so there were plenty of representatives willing to take potshots at the hawk and belittle the children who wanted to honor it.
—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for potshot
Verb
In a separate tweet, Ackman also took potshots at U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
Soon, the pair are playing long-distance chess, air drumming, and taking competitive potshots at one another’s dishware.
—Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
Instead Trump has taken verbal potshots at California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and President Biden, suggesting their actions are to blame for the failure to contain the fires.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 8 Jan. 2025
New Hampshire’s lower chamber has four hundred people, nearly double the second-largest state legislature in the country, so there were plenty of representatives willing to take potshots at the hawk and belittle the children who wanted to honor it.
—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for potshot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for potshot
Verb
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Charlie was the best of America, and the monster who attacked him was attacking our whole country.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
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Estonian police said the drone was likely en route to attack targets inside Russia.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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While Wednesday’s news put some Wild fans into a social media frenzy, one former NHL general manager told the Pioneer Press that this is just the opening salvo, and Kaprizov will likely command something closer to $18 million per season in a long-term contract.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
10 Sep. 2025
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Tommy walks the talk, and the film’s opening salvo illustrates a typical night on the town for him.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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During hours of debate on Friday, which Republicans eventually shut down using a procedural move, Democrats continued to slam the new map as detrimental to voters – particularly for voters in Kansas City, Missouri, which would be split among multiple districts.—
Oren Oppenheim,
ABC News,
12 Sep. 2025
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Other coffee bean-growing countries are also being slammed with tariffs.—
Jordan Valinsky,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This coalesces and makes sense of the barrage of assaults designed to undermine Americans’ trust in our country, our Constitution and all the principles upon which it was built.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
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When Lauryn Licari and Owen McKenny finally learned who was behind the barrage of incessant, cruel texts that broke them up and created mass paranoia at their small Midwestern school, the truth was almost too impossible to believe.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Some drivers also insult and demean people with disabilities or refuse reasonable requests such as letting passengers with mobility impairments sit in the front seat.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
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These summaries read like a bad high school essay and insult your audience's intelligence.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Footage of the game showed off its sleek new graphics, with a doubles match leaving Mario reeling to connect with a volley as his feet slip in realistic grass.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
12 Sep. 2025
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Sure didn’t look that way at the outset, and Sabalenka used a nifty drop-shot-volley-winner combination to help go up a break and grab a 4-2 lead.—
Howard Fendrich,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Shipp is tasked with scolding her father and delivering leaden exposition.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
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In Part 2, viewers see Morticia scold her children for lying to her, yet Morticia is keeping secrets from Wednesday about her past and family.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But then suddenly, out of nowhere, came a fusillade of bullets aimed at our heads and the upper parts of our bodies.—
Ahmed Dader
August 25,
Literary Hub,
25 Aug. 2025
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The three-man comedy factory that ruled the 1980s with their fusillades of slapstick, sight gags, loopy non sequiturs and winking innuendo was David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker — Hollywood’s ZAZ before David Zaslav.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
30 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Potshot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potshot. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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