Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell shot

hear itshot/ʃɑt/nounSounds

What it means: An attempt to score by throwing a ball toward a goal.

In a sentence: The basketball player made a great shot.

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as shotte or shott.

Same family: shoot, guess, estimate, attempt, roughly. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: English speakers have used “shot” to mean an attempt or guess since the 19th century, extending the older idea of “taking a shot” with a weapon. The figurative sense connects to the image of ‘shooting’ at a target when you’re not sure you’ll hit it, just like you’re not sure your estimate is correct.

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