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

Rowe, who visited the golf course after flying down from Washington Monday, said the would-be shooter didn't have a clear line of sight to take a shot at Trump and never fired any rounds. —Josh Meyer, USA TODAY, 17 Sep. 2024

With the ball at UCLA’s 39-yard line and Martin having built some momentum, Foster chose not to run another play rather than take a shot at the end zone. —Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024

My big takeaway is… Chelsie did not take a shot at her biggest competition to win it all… Makensy! —Dalton Ross, EW.com, 27 Sep. 2024

Gunman didn't have a line of sight on Trump or take a shot: Officials On Sunday, Ryan Wesley Routh was allegedly lying in wait for nearly 12 hours near the Republican presidential nominee's West Palm Beach golf course before a Secret Service agent spotted him, according to a criminal complaint. —Luke Barr, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2024