noun
potshot
Potshot (noun) means a shot fired at a target that is easy to hit or chosen without care.
noun
1
A shot fired at a target that is easy to hit or chosen without care.
"Bannister leaped up, ran lightly across the intervening space, and with his repeater took a potshot at the galloping horseman."
— William MacLeod Raine, Wyoming: A Story of the Outdoor West (1908)
2
An unfair criticism aimed at someone who is an easy target.
"He takes his share of potshots (mostly at the Da Vinci surgical robot), but the conscience of the film is in the stories of Essure, a procedure marketed to women as a hassle-free alternative to tubal ligation"
— Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, A documentary muckraker takes on the tech sector of health in The Bleeding Edge (2018)
"And until recently, anyone could read his Facebook posts, which included vulgar potshots at Nancy Pelosi and her husband and a pronouncement that supporters of Joseph R. Biden Jr. suffered from a “mental affliction.”"
— Richard Fausset, The Pope’s Florida Brother, a MAGA Disciple, Plans to ‘Tone It Down’ (2025)
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Etymology
From pot + shot. 1858, shot taken for the (cooking) pot, namely for food; see pothunter. Sense “opportunistic criticism” from 1926. Sense “drunk” from obsolete pot (“cup used for drinking liquor”).
Rhymes for potshot
See all rhymes for potshot →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of potshot?
"potshot" (noun) means a shot fired at a target that is easy to hit or chosen without care.
What are the different meanings of potshot?
"potshot" has 2 main meanings: 1. A shot fired at a target that is easy to hit or chosen without care; 2. An unfair criticism aimed at someone who is an easy target.
