long shot

[ lawng shot, long ]

noun

1. a horse, team, etc., that has little chance of winning and carries long odds.
2. an attempt or undertaking that offers much but in which there is little chance for success:

   Getting tickets at this late date is a long shot, but I'll give it a whirl.

3. Movies, Television. a camera shot taken at a relatively great distance from the subject and permitting a broad view of a scene. Compare close-up ( def 2 ), medium shot.

long shot

noun

1. a competitor, as in a race, considered to be unlikely to win
2. a bet against heavy odds
3. an undertaking, guess, or possibility with little chance of success
4. films television a shot where the camera is or appears to be distant from the object to be photographed
5. by a long shot
   by a long shot by any means

   he still hasn't finished by a long shot

Word History and Origins

Origin of long shot¹

First recorded in 1785–95

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. by a long shot, by any means; by a measurable degree (usually used in the negative):

   They haven't finished by a long shot.

Example Sentences

She was initially described in the local media as a long shot and was widely written off.

From Washington Post

This is called ballooning and it’s bad for hitting long shots.

From Popular-Science

As the graph above shows, areas of LA county with the highest poverty rates also have the highest mortality rates—and by a long shot.

From Popular-Science

On the world’s betting sites, that outcome was a long shot offering two-to-one odds a big payout as recently as two days after Christmas.

From Fortune

In five of the past six seasons, Westbrook scored on less than 30 percent of his long shots.

From Washington Post

Gun regulation, of course, was not the only successful initiative, not by a long shot.

From The Daily Beast

It does, and a little-known, long-shot Democrat is taking him to the wire.

From The Daily Beast

For now, neither Warren nor Clinton are campaigning with long-shot Democrats in the Hawkeye State.

From The Daily Beast

In 2012, Bentivolio filed as a long-shot primary candidate to take on idiosyncratic five-term incumbent Thaddeus McCotter.

From The Daily Beast

McCotter, fresh off a long-shot presidential bid, was expected to cruise to victory.

From The Daily Beast

A mile then was a long shot for the largest guns, and the Yankee cruisers had made a fair start.

From Project Gutenberg

You have a lot of soreheads to handle, here and at the division shops, and it isn't all their fault, not by a long shot.

From Project Gutenberg

Not that he or anybody else can tell me all about you—not by a long shot; I know boys and young men well enough for that.

From Project Gutenberg

Gavegan had grumbled to himself that it was only a thousand to one shot; but luck had been with him, and his long shot had won.

From Project Gutenberg

The actual limit is when the star has reached the density of a neutron, and this star hasn't collapsed that far by a long shot.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• fluke