shootout

[ shoot-out ]
See synonyms for shootout on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a gunfight that must end in defeat for one side or the other, as between gunfighters in the Old West, criminal groups, or law-enforcement officers and criminals.

  2. Slang. any military conflict or skirmish.

  1. Slang. a high-scoring or intensely played game or tournament, as of basketball or ice hockey.

  2. Soccer. a method of breaking a tie score at the end of overtime in which five players from each team alternate shooting at the opponent's goal, starting from a spot 35 yards (39 meters) from the goal line, in an attempt to kick the ball past the rival goalkeeper in under five seconds.

Origin of shootout

1
1945–50; noun use of verb phrase shoot (it) out to settle a dispute with firearms

Words Nearby shootout

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use shootout in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shoot out

shoot out

verb(tr, adverb)
  1. to fight to the finish by shooting (esp in the phrase shoot it out)

nounshoot-out
  1. a conclusive gunfight

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012