Outshot

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A shot that surpasses or beats an opponent's shot in sports such as golf or shooting
2. The winning stroke or hit that exceeds another player's effort in games involving aiming or striking
3. An attempt or strike in an aiming game that outdoes and triumphs over a competitor's shot

Etymology: "Outshot" is the past tense and past participle of "outshoot," a verb built simply from "out-" and "shoot." The "out-" prefix in English means "beyond" or "surpassing," so to outshoot someone is to shoot past them, going further or hitting better than they do. The base verb "shoot" traces back through Middle English "schoten" and Old English "sċēotan" to a Proto-Germanic root meaning to dart or move swiftly, which is the sense of a missile or projectile flying forward. The noun form in the aiming-game sense works the same way: a shot that surpasses a rival's shot. Because the word is a transparent combination of two familiar parts, its history is essentially the history of its components, with "out-" adding the sense of surpassing.

Synonyms: result, outcome, consequence, product, effect