as in to attack
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
The comic ended the show with a rant in which he potshot an assortment of celebrities.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of potshot
Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
Soon, the pair are playing long-distance chess, air drumming, and taking competitive potshots at one another’s dishware.
—Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
Instead Trump has taken verbal potshots at California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and President Biden, suggesting their actions are to blame for the failure to contain the fires.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 8 Jan. 2025
New Hampshire’s lower chamber has four hundred people, nearly double the second-largest state legislature in the country, so there were plenty of representatives willing to take potshots at the hawk and belittle the children who wanted to honor it.
—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for potshot
Verb
In a separate tweet, Ackman also took potshots at U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 7 Apr. 2025
Soon, the pair are playing long-distance chess, air drumming, and taking competitive potshots at one another’s dishware.
—Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
Instead Trump has taken verbal potshots at California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and President Biden, suggesting their actions are to blame for the failure to contain the fires.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 8 Jan. 2025
New Hampshire’s lower chamber has four hundred people, nearly double the second-largest state legislature in the country, so there were plenty of representatives willing to take potshots at the hawk and belittle the children who wanted to honor it.
—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 28 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for potshot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for potshot
Verb
-
In a new warning, a senior Iranian army official said Tehran was ready to broaden its military reach beyond conventional strikes if attacked.—
Amira El-Fekki,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Taylor fills the bootstraps of Perfidia Beverly Hills, a formidable leader armed with a rifle fighting for the cause, her main prerogative is to overtake the institutions that imprison and attack vulnerable groups.—
Essence,
Essence,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
All of that is just the opening salvo of the film, delivered with breakneck assurance by Anderson.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
18 Sep. 2025
-
If the Chargers add a win against Denver to get to 3-0 in the division through three weeks, that’d be a mighty strong opening salvo in what looks like perhaps the strongest division in football.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Even the conservative editorial board of The Wall Street Journal slammed Carr's threats toward ABC over Kimmel's comments.—
Michael Collins,
USA Today,
20 Sep. 2025
-
Demonstrators carried signs slamming Disney, ABC, the FCC and the TV station group owners who dealt the fatal blow to Kimmel by declaring that he would be preempted in heartland markets such as Nashville, New Orleans and Salt Lake City.—
Dan Doperalski,
Variety,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This coalesces and makes sense of the barrage of assaults designed to undermine Americans’ trust in our country, our Constitution and all the principles upon which it was built.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
-
When Lauryn Licari and Owen McKenny finally learned who was behind the barrage of incessant, cruel texts that broke them up and created mass paranoia at their small Midwestern school, the truth was almost too impossible to believe.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Her collectedness collapses as Johnson turns the joke into a physical act-out, becoming almost insulted that this earthquake dared to frighten her.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Last September, when news broke that another friend of Kraus’s, the journalist Olivia Nuzzi, had exchanged intimate texts with Kennedy, Kraus wrote a Substack post accusing Nuzzi of ensnaring Kennedy and insulted her looks on Instagram.—
Clare Malone,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Pacing yourself so your shields regenerate and picking up large green gems to produce a powerful return volley of shots is particularly satisfying.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
-
French broadcasters also reported sporadic clashes in the cities of Nantes, in the west, and Lyon in the southeast, with volleys of police tear gas and projectiles targeting officers.—
Dan Gooding
Jason Lemon,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Shipp is tasked with scolding her father and delivering leaden exposition.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
-
In Part 2, viewers see Morticia scold her children for lying to her, yet Morticia is keeping secrets from Wednesday about her past and family.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In retaliation, the Houthis launched a fusillade of ballistic missiles at the Truman, which turned tail and steamed away, causing another Super Hornet to slide off the deck into the ocean.—
Seth Harp,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
-
As Ukraine marked another year of independence, Vladimir Putin responded with one of the worst fusillades of missiles since his unprovoked full-scale war of aggression began over three years ago.—
Oleksandra Matviichuk,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Potshot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/potshot. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share