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

Despite missing her first three 3s of the quarter, the sharpshooter knocked one down to help the Horned Frogs enter the final quarter ahead 62-43. —Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Feb. 2025

To truly land, farce must have the precision of a sharpshooter. —EW.com, 6 Feb. 2025

Players can also look forward to an input latency of just 6 milliseconds at the 240 Hz setting, which should be more than enough to meet the demands of quickfire sharpshooters. —Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 31 Jan. 2025

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said Israeli warplanes struck Jenin and that Israeli forces, including sharpshooters and armored vehicles, were surrounding the city’s refugee camp and stopping ambulances from entering. —Lucas Lilieholm, CNN, 22 Jan. 2025

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