Meaning & use
sharpshooter
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A person who is very skilled at hitting a target with a gun, especially a rifle.
Grammar: A regular countable noun: one sharpshooter, two sharpshooters.
Patterns
- a sharpshooter in something
The army sent a sharpshooter to a rooftop across the square.
He trained for years to become a competition sharpshooter.
A sharpshooter from the local club won the gold medal.
nouncountableinformalsport
A player in a sport, especially basketball, who scores with great accuracy from a distance.
Grammar: Countable: the team has two sharpshooters on the court.
Patterns
- a sharpshooter from something
The team signed a three-point sharpshooter to help late in games.
She is a sharpshooter who rarely misses from the free-throw line.
Their coach praised the young sharpshooter after the win.
Word forms
| plural | sharpshooters |
|---|
Common combinations
- a trained sharpshooter
- A trained sharpshooter was positioned near the stage.
- a police sharpshooter
- A police sharpshooter waited on the roof.
- an expert sharpshooter
- Her father was an expert sharpshooter in the navy.
- a three-point sharpshooter
- The club needs a three-point sharpshooter.
- an army sharpshooter
- An army sharpshooter guarded the road.
Synonyms and how they differ
- marksman
- Marksman is the more formal and general word for a skilled shot, while sharpshooter often suggests a combat or competition role.
- sniper
- A sniper shoots from a hidden position, usually to kill, whereas a sharpshooter may simply be an excellent shot.
- crack shot
- Crack shot is an informal phrase for someone who rarely misses, with less focus on a job or role.
Word family
Commonly confused: sharpshooter or sniper?
sharpshooter vs sniper
A sniper hides and fires from far away, while a sharpshooter is simply a skilled shot and need not be hidden.
Practice
The basketball team is hoping its new ____ will make most of the long-range shots.
Choose one answer.
A sharpshooter scores accurately from a distance. A referee or bodyguard has a different job and is not about scoring.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sharpshooter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.