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
Byalexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2024
Key bandmembers Waters and David Gilmour (pictured above right and left, respectively, in the early 1970s), have been feuding for decades, taking public potshots at each other while recently trying to find enough common ground to close a deal.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024
Members of the French Grande Armée—which included many Protestants and Catholics from Germany, Italy, and Poland—had defecated in the Kremlin’s Orthodox churches and taken potshots at the holy icons.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2017
Witness Donald Trump recently questioning the racial identity of his opponent, Kamala Harris, a race-baiting potshot that dredges up ingrained prejudices against biracial Americans that stretch back to the antebellum South.
—Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for potshot 
Noun
Bolstered by hubris and net worth, these billionaires have loudly aligned themselves with their preferred candidate, taken potshots at the opposition, and flogged their personal policy prescriptions—often in feisty social media spats with one another.
—Byalexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2024
Key bandmembers Waters and David Gilmour (pictured above right and left, respectively, in the early 1970s), have been feuding for decades, taking public potshots at each other while recently trying to find enough common ground to close a deal.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024
Members of the French Grande Armée—which included many Protestants and Catholics from Germany, Italy, and Poland—had defecated in the Kremlin’s Orthodox churches and taken potshots at the holy icons.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2017
Witness Donald Trump recently questioning the racial identity of his opponent, Kamala Harris, a race-baiting potshot that dredges up ingrained prejudices against biracial Americans that stretch back to the antebellum South.
—Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for potshot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for potshot
Verb
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Governments around the world have trained eagles to attack unmanned aircraft.Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2024
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The accuser says she was attacked by the two rappers at an after-show party following the Video Music Awards.Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Now, as traders bet the incoming Trump administration could open the crypto floodgates, Musk's latest salvo against the spiraling $36 trillion debt pile have sparked calls for Musk's Doge department of government efficiency to back the Bitcoin Act of 2024.Billy Bambrough, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
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This was the first in a salvo of data releases expected this week that can provide insight into the strength of the labor market.Sean Conlon,Lisa Kailai Han,Alex Harring, CNBC, 2 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Thinking quickly, Bree grabs a cast-iron skillet and slams it into his head, knocking him out cold.Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 6 Dec. 2024
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But while rival European horologists vaunt the traditions of their centuries-old workshops, design duo Toledano & Chan’s new creation has a longer history altogether: It was carved from a meteorite that slammed into Earth around 1 million years ago.Oscar Holland, CNN, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
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That night, Trump unleashed a barrage of lies about immigrants and asylum seekers.Julia Preston, The New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2024
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In a truly bold move (and, honestly, in a welcome departure from the barrage of holiday romance movies), Netflix is ushering out its version of Die Hard (yes, the streamer itself actually made this comparison) for the Christmas season with Carry-On.Travis Bean, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Now, in elevating him to one of America’s premier diplomatic postings, Trump has managed to both insult our oldest ally and flout whatever remaining standards there are for holding a senior U.S. position.Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2024
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And now insult me with the dubious claim about your self-serving fiction being more important than the truth.Ayad Akhtar, The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Popular on Variety The move represents a significant volley in Hollywood’s ongoing streaming wars, in which Disney and its rivals are working to fend off inroads made among video consumers by digital competitors such as Netflix, Apple and Amazon.Brian Steinberg, Variety, 4 Dec. 2024
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Then on October 5, Israeli forces unleashed a volley of aerial and ground attacks on three neighborhoods in northern Gaza, decimating entire street blocks, compounding chronic hunger and leaving emergency crews unable to rescue civilians wounded by the onslaught.Abeer Salman, CNN, 4 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The Senate hauled Live Nation’s president and CFO in for a public scolding.Allison Morrow, CNN, 10 Dec. 2024
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The New York Times reported that Hegseth’s mother had sent him an email scolding him for abusing women.Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024
Noun
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What about Chase answering Jackson’s fusillade with 212 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the second half, even as the Ravens knew Joe Burrow would be looking for No. 1 on all the biggest downs?Baltimore Sun staff, Baltimore Sun, 8 Nov. 2024
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Like a similar fusillade from Tehran in April, the main effect of the barrage was to stoke worries that Israel’s retaliation would ignite a regional war that drags in the United States, and opens whole new realms of uncertainty.Yasmeen Serhan, TIME, 7 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Potshot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potshot. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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