Meaning & use
dead shot
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableinformalold-fashioned
A person who shoots or throws with perfect accuracy.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a dead shot' for one person and 'dead shots' for more than one.
Patterns
- be a dead shot
- be a dead shot with something
My grandmother was a dead shot with a rifle and never missed a target.
He is a dead shot at free throws and rarely misses.
The team hired a dead shot to take the penalty kicks.
Word forms
| plural | dead shots |
|---|
Common combinations
- a dead shot with a rifle
- She is a dead shot with a rifle.
- a dead shot at something
- He is a dead shot at darts.
- be known as a dead shot
- The hunter was known as a dead shot.
Synonyms and how they differ
- marksman
- Marksman is more formal and often used in military contexts; dead shot is informal and can also refer to throwing.
- sharpshooter
- Sharpshooter usually means a skilled military shooter; dead shot is broader and slightly old-fashioned.
Opposites
Commonly confused: dead shot or deadshot?
dead shot vs deadshot
Deadshot is often a nickname or a single word in games; dead shot as two words is the general noun phrase.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'dead shot' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly uses 'a dead shot' for an accurate person. Option 1 confuses it with 'a shot' meaning an attempt; option 2 treats it as a sound; option 3 uses it as a verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dead shot”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.