cheap shot

noun

1
: an act of deliberate roughness against a defenseless opponent especially in a contact sport
taking cheap shots at the quarterback
2
: a critical statement that takes unfair advantage of a known weakness of the target
cheap-shot
ˈchēp-ˌshät How to pronounce cheap shot (audio)
transitive verb

Examples of cheap shot in a Sentence

He took a cheap shot at the quarterback. a cheap shot to the back of the head The remark about his weight was a cheap shot.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Benn is extremely fortunate that he wasn’t suspended for the cheap shot. — Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2026 Instead, Nemeth took his cheap shot at the end of the night but already agreed to the match for Slammiversary. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026 Back in, Cargill and Michin took out their opponents with a pair of cheap shots, and Michin took control of the bout. — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026 That second one, a cheap shot by the Kings’ Mikey Anderson, is a felony in 45 states. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 22 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cheap shot

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of cheap shot was in 1903

Rhymes for cheap shot

See All Rhymes for cheap shot

Browse Nearby Words

cheap out
cheap shot
cheapskate
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cheap shot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cheap%20shot. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All