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
Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
Soon, the pair are playing long-distance chess, air drumming, and taking competitive potshots at one another’s dishware.
—Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
Instead Trump has taken verbal potshots at California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and President Biden, suggesting their actions are to blame for the failure to contain the fires.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 8 Jan. 2025
New Hampshire’s lower chamber has four hundred people, nearly double the second-largest state legislature in the country, so there were plenty of representatives willing to take potshots at the hawk and belittle the children who wanted to honor it.
—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for potshot
Verb
In a separate tweet, Ackman also took potshots at U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
Soon, the pair are playing long-distance chess, air drumming, and taking competitive potshots at one another’s dishware.
—Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
Instead Trump has taken verbal potshots at California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and President Biden, suggesting their actions are to blame for the failure to contain the fires.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 8 Jan. 2025
New Hampshire’s lower chamber has four hundred people, nearly double the second-largest state legislature in the country, so there were plenty of representatives willing to take potshots at the hawk and belittle the children who wanted to honor it.
—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for potshot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for potshot
Verb
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Mastantuono, 18, has the characteristics to contribute from a deeper position, but his signing was intended for more attacking areas, as is being seen.—
Mario Cortegana,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
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An elderly Arkansas man is in the hospital after a black bear attacked him in Franklin County on Wednesday.—
Kris Millgate,
Outdoor Life,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But as the battle between the NWSL and WSL for the title of women’s soccer’s top league rages, Thompson’s move across the pond won’t be the last salvo fired.—
Molly Geary,
Sportico.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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The survey, purportedly designed to influence Treasury consultations on remote gambling taxation, represents the latest salvo in the industry's campaign against regulatory tightening.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The occurrences grew more aggressive over time, with the Smurls' 75-pound German shepherd getting slammed into a wall and Jack getting attacked while praying.—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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Sabalenka shook her head and slammed her arms by her side.—
Howard Fendrich,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Ukraine's air force said in a post to Telegram that Russia launched 810 drones and 13 missiles into the country in the latest barrage, of which 747 drones and four missiles were shot down.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
7 Sep. 2025
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone and missile barrage killed four people and caused damage across the north, south and east of the country, including the cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Odesa, as well as in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions.—
Lidia Kelly,
USA Today,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Would any self-respecting show really risk insulting the viewer’s intelligence so flagrantly?—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
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Trump has insulted both men about their weight.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Sure didn’t look that way at the outset, and Sabalenka used a nifty drop-shot-volley-winner combination to help go up a break and grab a 4-2 lead.—
Howard Fendrich,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Stamper told jurors Stines fired nine shots in multiple volleys.—
Lucas Aulbach,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In Part 2, viewers see Morticia scold her children for lying to her, yet Morticia is keeping secrets from Wednesday about her past and family.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
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Family matriarch Donna Adelson was scolded by a judge Thursday for weeping in the courtroom after being convicted of orchestrating a 2014 murder-for-hire plot of her former son-in-law, a prominent Florida State University law professor.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But then suddenly, out of nowhere, came a fusillade of bullets aimed at our heads and the upper parts of our bodies.—
Ahmed Dader
August 25,
Literary Hub,
25 Aug. 2025
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The three-man comedy factory that ruled the 1980s with their fusillades of slapstick, sight gags, loopy non sequiturs and winking innuendo was David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker — Hollywood’s ZAZ before David Zaslav.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
30 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Potshot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potshot. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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