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Glite Dictionary
to take a shot in the dark

to take a shot in the dark

1 7.0
To guess or try something without much information
  • idiom
  • Informal
: hacer una conjetura
  • He decided to take a shot in the dark and apply for the job even though he had no experience.

Examples

  • I'm taking a shot in the dark here.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess that the answer is 42.

  • When faced with the puzzle, she chose to take a shot in the dark and wrote down a random answer.

Synonyms

to guess
vsto take a shot in the dark
∞ 1.0

To form an opinion or estimate without enough information

is broader, including both tries and blind opinions made with no prior knowledge
to speculate
vsto take a shot in the dark
254 4.8

To think about possible reasons or outcomes when there are not enough facts

is a more random try or opinion made without any prior knowledge
to take a shot at
vsto take a shot in the dark
  • Informal
45 3.7

To try to do something even when success is uncertain

is also used for making uninformed tries or opinions without prior knowledge
to take a stab at
vsto take a shot in the dark
  • Informal
10 5.3

To try to do something when you are not sure you will succeed

often means a blind opinion or uninformed attempt made without prior knowledge
to have a stab at
vsto take a shot in the dark
  • UK
1 5.3

To try to do something when you are not sure you will succeed

is used for quick, uninformed tries or opinions made with no prior knowledge

Antonyms

to know
∞ 1.0

To have information about something

How Certain

estimate
370 2.6
to guess
∞ 1.0
to take a shot in the dark
  • Informal
1 7.0

Surface Forms

take a shot in the dark infinitive
taking a shot in the dark present participle
takes a shot in the dark third person singular
took a shot in the dark past
taken a shot in the dark past participle

Morphology

take + a + shot + in + the + dark

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'shot' (an attempt or guess) with 'in the dark' (without information or knowledge); together they yield 'an attempt made without prior knowledge or certainty.' The metaphor 'dark = lack of knowledge' is common across languages and the construction follows normal compositional patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Take a shot in the dark comes from the image of taking a shot while you are in the dark and cannot see what you aim at. So, it means 'to try or guess when you have little or no information'.