Meaning & use
shootin' the breeze
Last updated
“shootin' the breeze” is a form of “shoot the breeze”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
phraseidiominformal
Talking in a relaxed, aimless way about unimportant things, just to pass the time.
Grammar: Used with be + -ing: we were shootin' the breeze. The full form 'shoot the breeze' is more common in writing.
Patterns
- be shootin' the breeze
- shootin' the breeze with someone
We sat on the porch shootin' the breeze until midnight.
The two of them were shootin' the breeze about football and old cars.
He called just to shoot the breeze for a few minutes.
Word forms
| full form | shoot the breeze |
|---|---|
| third person singular | shoots the breeze |
| past tense | shot the breeze |
| -ing form | shooting the breeze |
Common combinations
- just shootin' the breeze
- Nothing important, we were just shootin' the breeze.
- sit around shootin' the breeze
- They sat around shootin' the breeze all afternoon.
- shootin' the breeze with a friend
- I spent an hour shootin' the breeze with an old friend.
- call to shoot the breeze
- She called me to shoot the breeze, not to ask for anything.
Synonyms and how they differ
- chat
- Neutral and general; it can be about serious matters, while this phrase suggests nothing important is discussed.
- small talk
- A noun for polite conversation with strangers or at events; the phrase here is a verb and sounds friendlier.
- catch up
- Implies sharing news you have missed, not simply passing the time.
Commonly confused: shootin' the breeze or shoot the bull?
shootin' the breeze vs shoot the bull
A similar informal expression meaning to talk nonsense or chat; it can sound slightly rougher than 'shoot the breeze'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'shootin' the breeze' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The idiom means chatting idly, so talking about nothing in particular fits. Option 1 wrongly suggests shooting at someone, option 3 confuses it with blowing air, and option 4 treats it as firing a gun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shootin' the breeze”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.