wrist shot

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablesport

   In ice hockey, a shot made by pulling the puck back and snapping it forward with a quick wrist movement.

   Grammar: Countable: one wrist shot, two wrist shots. Used mainly in hockey contexts.

   Patterns

   • take a wrist shot
   • score with a wrist shot
   • a wrist shot from the point

   He took a wrist shot from the top of the circle and scored.

   The goalie stopped a hard wrist shot with his glove.

   She practices her wrist shot for an hour after every game.

2. 2nouncountablesport

   A quick shot in other sports, such as tennis or cricket, made mainly with a flick of the wrist.

   Grammar: Countable and used for a specific shot, not for the general style of play.

   Patterns

   • play a wrist shot
   • a wrist shot in tennis

   The tennis player hit a clever wrist shot that caught her opponent off guard.

   He used a wrist shot to send the ball past the goalkeeper.

Word forms

Common combinations

take a wrist shot

He took a wrist shot from the blue line.

score with a wrist shot

She scored with a wrist shot in the second period.

a hard wrist shot

The goalie saved a hard wrist shot.

a quick wrist shot

He surprised everyone with a quick wrist shot.

practice wrist shots

The players stayed late to practice wrist shots.

Synonyms and how they differ

snap shot

A snap shot is also quick but uses a shorter, more sudden snap of the stick; it is different from the longer pull-and-release of a wrist shot.

slap shot

A slap shot is much more powerful and uses a big backswing, while a wrist shot is quicker and more accurate.

Word family

wrist noun

The joint between the hand and the arm.

Commonly confused: wrist shot or slap shot?

Practice

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