shooting

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

Examples of shooting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Initially arrested for the shooting in April 2022, Rocky, who is currently out on bail, has been charged with two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. —Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 11 Feb. 2025

Gonzalez-Munoz was held on a $1 million bond after the shooting, which Johnson County prosecutors attributed to the public safety risk his actions caused. —Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 11 Feb. 2025

Neighbors said the dead man grew up in the area and moved to the block where the shooting took place about eight years ago. —Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025

The shooting took place about 1:30 a.m. local time in Tarzana, a suburb of San Fernando Valley near Woodland Hills. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 10 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

Medical Definition

shooting

adjective

shoot·​ing

: characterized by sudden sharp piercing sensations

shooting pains