take a shot

idiom

: to fire a gun

He took a shot and missed.

—often + at

He took a shot at the deer.

: to try to hit

—+ at

She took a shot at me with a snowball but missed.

: to propel a ball or puck toward a goal

He took a shot and scored.

: to make a critical or hurtful remark about someone

—+ at

They took shots at each other throughout the debate.

: 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.

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 Brinkerhoff and a filly named Where’s My Ring will take a shot at the Kentucky Oaks on Friday at the racing cathedral Churchill Downs. —

Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 May 2024 Still, Dasha wants to take a shot at turning it around. —

Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 24 Apr. 2024 The Oregon team won the NCAA game 87-73 and Bronze raised up his hands and made an adorable squeal just as a player was about to take a shot. —

Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024 Emmy watchers should not be surprised if multiple top contenders this year opt to take a shot at the drama series race rather than compete in the limited series category. —

Clayton Davis, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for take a shot

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take a shot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.