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Glite Dictionary
🔫 To fire a weapon 📷 To take a picture 💨 To move quickly ⚽ To kick or throw 🎯 A shooting event 🌱 A young plant 🌱 To start growing 🎲 To throw dice 🧵 To weave colors 💸 To waste money 🌟 To measure stars
to shoot

to shoot

1 9.9
To weave threads of different colors into cloth
  • verb
  • /ʃut/
  • Archaic
: entrelazar hilos de colores
  • The marble was incredibly beautiful, the most beautiful stone I ever saw, deep dark purple shot through with crimson veins in patterns so complex and mysterious I could have gazed at them entranced for hours, wondering what they meant or if they meant anything at all.

Examples

  • On her next visit, she brought Joanne a lacy, white, high-necked blouse shot through with gold threads that someone had given her years ago.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The texture of the wall changed from earth to aggregate to deep umber stone, to ebony rock shot with veins of milky quartz that gradually grew in width and translucency.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Dark hair shot with gray.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Beams of sunlight shoot through the holes that Kate shot through the wall.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • "In his mind, he could still see her as she had appeared to him that night, dressed in a white gown shot with golden threads.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • On the far side of the stream, she saw a splendid spider web, shot with rainbows.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Branches and twigs of fine crystal were shot through with blues, reds, and golds flowing through icy veins.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Even before he went to Manhattan, his basic palette of grays and blacks, shot through with those red, white, or yellow slices of pure energy, vibrated with a kinetic power that's missing in Taconic Hills.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Her dress was beautifully shot with vibrant hues of green and pink, creating a stunning effect.

  • The artist's tapestry was shot with golden threads, giving it a rich and luxurious look.

Idioms

to shoot the messenger
9 7.8

Blame or punish the person who brings bad news instead of fixing the problem

to shoot the breeze
  • Informal
9 6.8

To chat in a relaxed informal way about unimportant things

to shoot from the hip
  • Informal
9 8.1

To speak or act quickly without thinking carefully

to shoot yourself in the foot
  • Informal
4 7.5

Cause trouble for yourself by your actions, often by accident

to shoot for the stars
  • Informal
2 4.7

Try to reach a very high and difficult goal

to shoot the bull
  • US
1 8.1

To chat in a relaxed way about everyday things

to shoot someone's face off
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To surprise someone very strongly, often in a funny way

to shoot from the lip
  • Informal
1 8.9

To speak quickly without thinking and risk upsetting people

to shoot first and ask questions later
  • Informal
1 8.4

Act quickly without thinking or checking facts

to shoot off at the mouth
  • Informal
1 9.4

Say things quickly without thinking that may hurt people or make you sorry later

to shoot your bolt
  • Informal
1 8.6

To use up all your energy or chances so none remain

to shoot oneself in the foot
  • Informal
1 8.4

Do or say something that harms your own chances

to shoot one's bolt
  • Informal
8.8

To use up all your energy or chances

to shoot one's load
  • Offensive
9.9

Use all your energy at once and have none left in a rude way

Phrasal Verbs

to shoot down
149 4.4

Fire at a plane or missile so it falls to the ground

to shoot for
  • Informal
41 3.9

To try to reach a big, difficult goal

to shoot down
  • Informal
35 3.8

Say no to an idea or plan in a sudden, strong way

to shoot up
25 4.1

Rise quickly to a much higher level

to shoot off
  • Informal
4 4.1

To send a message quickly without much thought

to shoot craps
  • US
2 8.4

Play a dice gambling game to try to win money

to shoot holes in
  • Informal
1 7.2

To find and point out weak points in an idea, plan or argument

to shoot a question
  • Informal
1 3.7

To ask a question quickly and directly

to shoot a line
  • Informal
1 8.3

To send a short message to someone by phone or text

to shoot a line
  • Australian
9.6

To say proud things to make yourself seem better than you are

to shoot one's mouth off
  • Informal
8.0

To say things carelessly or proudly without thinking about the result

Compounds

photo shoot
66 3.1

A session when someone takes photos of people or things

shoot 'em up
5 8.1

A fast action game or movie with a lot of shooting

turkey shoot
  • NSFW
4 8.4

An event or situation where winning is very easy, for example a shooting contest with easy targets

shoot-'em-up
  • NSFW
3 8.0

A fast action film or game with lots of shooting and fights

point-and-shoot camera
3 3.4

A small light camera with automatic settings for taking simple photos

bamboo shoot
1 2.1

A young stem of bamboo you can eat and use as a vegetable in Asian cooking

Surface Forms

shoot infinitive
shooting present participle
shoots third person singular
shot past
shot past participle

Etymology

A helpful way to remember shoot in weaving is to imagine threads being 'shot' quickly through the cloth, like being 'sent across' the fabric from the old English sceotan 'to send quickly'. So in textiles, to shoot means to pass threads through the cloth to make a pattern.