ENGLISH
REFERENCE

shootout

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈʃutaʊt// UK //ʃˈuːtaʊt// shootout

n. a fight using guns between two groups of people. In sports like soccer, it is a way to decide a winner at the end of a game by taking turns shooting at the goal.

n. a decisive gunfight between two parties; in a sporting context, a tie-breaking procedure consisting of a series of penalty shots.


SIMPLE

The game ended in a dramatic penalty shootout.

CONTEXTUAL

After the police cornered the suspects in the warehouse, a brief shootout occurred before the group finally surrendered.

COMPLEX

Despite dominating possession for ninety minutes, the underdog team could only secure a victory through a tense shootout that tested the nerves of every player on the pitch.

Synonyms
Origin

Deverbal from shoot out.

Usage

Commonly used in sports journalism to describe tie-breaking scenarios, particularly in soccer and ice hockey.

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