sharpshooter

noun

sharp·​shoot·​er ˈshärp-ˌshü-tər 

plural sharpshooters

1

: a person who is highly skilled in shooting a weapon (such as a rifle) at a mark or target

a police sharpshooter

Determined to prevent any attempt on Lincoln's life, General Winfield Scott had placed sharpshooters on the roofs of buildings along the avenue …

—David Herbert Donald

2

sports : a consistently accurate shooter (as in basketball)

A 6' 9" sharpshooter who several NBA scouts predict will be a first-round pick …

—Tim Crothers

3

: any of various large leafhoppers that have powerful hind legs with spines on the tibia

The sharpshooter uses a needlelike mouthpart to suck fluids from trees and plants. As it goes from one to the next, it spreads diseases that can wipe out orange groves and other crops.

—Carl Zimmer

In Temecula, disease-carrying sharpshooters have turned some vineyards into wastelands.

—Steve Schmidt

Synonyms

• marksman
• shooter
• shot

Examples of sharpshooter in a Sentence

the police stationed sharpshooters on rooftops all along the route of the presidential motorcade

Recent Examples on the Web

Willard credited the Terps’ perimeter defense with making life difficult for Villanova’s sharpshooters. —Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 25 Nov. 2024

Gunmen from the Manfredi and Bevilaqua outfits, led by weed store employee and unlikely sharpshooter Grace, take out the rest of the Triads. —Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024

Former President Trump praised Indiana Fever sharpshooter Caitlin Clark in a recent interview before Americans head to the polls to cast a vote for president. —Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 4 Nov. 2024

They and Trump were struck when 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire from an unsecured rooftop nearby before he was fatally shot by sharpshooters. —Adriana Gomez Licon, Chicago Tribune, 6 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

sharpshooter

noun

sharp·​shoot·​er ˈshärp-ˌshüt-ər 

: one skilled in shooting : a good marksman

sharpshooting

-ˌshüt-iŋ

noun