take a shot

idiom

1

: to fire a gun

He took a shot and missed.

—often + at

He took a shot at the deer.

2

: to try to hit

—+ at

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

3

: to propel a ball or puck toward a goal

He took a shot and scored.

4

: to make a critical or hurtful remark about someone

—+ at

They took shots at each other throughout the debate.

5

: 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.

6

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

Jupiter tied the match at 1-1 on Hole 6 when Boston conceded a birdie, but went behind again on Hole 10 when Woods took too long to take a shot – the first shot clock violation in TGL history – and the resulting one-stroke penalty handed the point to the Common. —Jamie Barton, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025

Maybe the Warriors would be willing to take a shot providing extra cover as a scorer next to an elite defender like Draymond Green? —Sam Vecenie, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025

Irving can’t waste the opportunity to take a shot at Dylan’s love for finger traps, caricature portraits and all the rest of Lumon’s incentives. —Josh Wigler, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Jan. 2025

Brown used the discourse to take a shot at Jemele Hill, suggesting that the journalist is unattractive and that men don’t want to be romantically involved with her. —Marc Griffin, VIBE.com, 7 Jan. 2025