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
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
Media reports of Newsom’s appearance centered on his verbal potshot at former President Donald Trump and his conversation with Pope Francis who, Newsom said, praised his unilateral suspension of executions in California.
—Dan Walters, Orange County Register, 29 May 2024
What started as a war of words between Lamar and Drake quickly devolved into something more sinister, with each airing the other’s dirty laundry in public and taking vicious potshots.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for potshot 
Noun
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
Media reports of Newsom’s appearance centered on his verbal potshot at former President Donald Trump and his conversation with Pope Francis who, Newsom said, praised his unilateral suspension of executions in California.
—Dan Walters, Orange County Register, 29 May 2024
What started as a war of words between Lamar and Drake quickly devolved into something more sinister, with each airing the other’s dirty laundry in public and taking vicious potshots.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 8 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for potshot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for potshot
Verb
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Just two years prior, the NFL team had shelled out more than $1.4 million trying to get Becker elected mayor, and another roughly $1 million attacking Mayor Lisa Gillmor.Grace Hase, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
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An investigation from DePaul University and the Chicago Police Department is underway after two Jewish students who were visibly showing their support for Israel were attacked on the university’s Lincoln Park campus.NBC Chicago, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
Noun
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The latest salvo in the decades-long conflict between Iran and Israel lit up the predawn sky over Tehran on Saturday.Uri Friedman, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2024
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That outcome would underscore why authorities undertook aggressive easing measures late last month, and presented another salvo of support on Saturday.Jason Ma, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Donald Trump slams Nancy Pelosi for corruption, calls military generals stupid Robby Soave and Nomiki Konst react to Donald Trump’s rhetoric, resorting to more name-calling.The Hill, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2024
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Lydia Lucero, 49, lives nearby and said the truck appeared to have been up in the middle of 15th Avenue after slamming into the wall of a corner house.Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Tensions between Israel and Iran remain at a boiling point, more than a week after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes into Iranian territory, the latest in a chain of retaliatory attacks after Iran fired a barrage of around 200 missiles at Israel in early October.Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024
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Since 2020, election workers have faced a constant barrage of threats, harassment, and stalking at such a level that the DOJ formed a special division just to investigate those types of threats.Tess Owen, WIRED, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
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At the rally, the Republican hit several familiar notes, hinting at election fraud, insulting his opponents and criticizing Harris over immigration and the economy.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
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Trump has regularly insulted women who may pose a threat to him, such as his former opponent Hillary Clinton.Alena Botros, Fortune, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Maintained in this state of wild vexation by volleys of planetary radiation— what if a genie replaced your phone with the club of somebody’s tibia bone?James Parker, The Atlantic, 4 Nov. 2024
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The volley of digital ads paints Valadao as corrupt and responsible for the rising costs of housing and health care.Grant Stringer, The Mercury News, 28 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Still, watching Hannah scold him about everything, from 401(k)s to boiling water to phone bills, from ordering him to walk a dog that doesn’t belong to him to telling him that riding hotel pool furniture would give her the ick, was painful.Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 31 Oct. 2024
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Dolores returns to scold her grandson for badmouthing her during the show’s Día de los Muertos episode, which airs on NBC on Friday, Oct. 25.Brendan Le, People.com, 25 Oct. 2024
Noun
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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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At every turn, Schimberg unleashes a nervy fusillade of ideas: about the unequal distribution of physical beauty, the social privilege that such beauty commands, the challenge of trying to probe these inequities through art.Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Potshot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potshot. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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