Shot vs Poke - What's the difference?

In transitive terms the difference between shot and poke

is that shot is to load (a gun) with shot while poke is to thrust (something) in a particular direction such as the tongue.

As nouns the difference between shot and poke

is that shot is the result of launching a projectile or bullet while poke is a lazy person; a dawdler.

As verbs the difference between shot and poke

is that shot is past tense of shoot while poke is to prod or jab with a pointed object such as a finger or a stick.

As an adjective shot

is worn out or broken.

As an interjection shot

is thank you.

shot

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) , from Germanic *skot-''. Cognate with German ''''. Compare ''scot .

Adjective

(en adjective)

(colloquial) Worn out or broken.

The rear axle will have to be replaced. It's shot .

* (The Tragically Hip), "Thompson Girl", :

Thompson girl, I'm stranded at the Unique Motel / Thompson girl, winterfighter's shot on the car as well

(Of material, especially silk) Woven from warp and weft strands of different colours, resulting in an iridescent appearance.

The cloak was shot through with silver threads.

tired, weary

I have to go to bed now; I'm shot .

Discharged, cleared, or rid of something.

* Sir Walter Scott

Are you not glad to be shot of him?

Noun

(en noun)

The result of launching a projectile or bullet.

The shot was wide off the mark.

(sports) The act of launching a ball or similar object toward a goal.

They took the lead on a last-minute shot .

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=November 12 , author= , title=International friendly: England 1-0 Spain , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=England's attacking impetus was limited to one shot from Lampard that was comfortably collected by keeper Iker Casillas, but for all Spain's domination of the ball his England counterpart Joe Hart was unemployed.}}

(athletics) The heavy iron ball used for the shot put.

The shot flew twenty metres, and nearly landed on the judge's foot.

(uncountable) Small metal balls used as ammunition.

(uncountable, military) Metal balls (or similar) used as ammunition; not necessarily small.

(referring to one's skill at firing a gun) Someone who shoots (a gun) regularly

I brought him hunting as he's a good shot .

He'd make a bad soldier as he's a lousy shot .

An opportunity or attempt.

I'd like just one more shot at winning this game.

A remark or comment, especially one which is critical or insulting.

* 2003 , Carla Marinucci, " On inauguration eve, 'Aaaarnold' stands tall," San Francisco Chronicle , 16 Nov. (retrieved 18 Apr. 2009):

Schwarzenegger also is taking nasty shots from his own party, as GOP conservatives bash some of his appointments as Kennedyesque and traitorous to party values.

(slang, sports, US) A punch or other physical blow.

A measure of alcohol, usually spirits, as taken either from a shot-glass or directly from the bottle, equivalent to about 44 milliliters; 1.5 ounces. ("pony shot"= 30 milliliters; 1 fluid ounce)

I'd like a shot of whisky in my coffee.

A single serving of espresso.

(photography, film) A single unbroken sequence of photographic film exposures, or the digital equivalent; an unedited sequence of frames.

We got a good shot of the hummingbirds mating.

A vaccination or injection.

I went to the doctor to get a shot for malaria.

(US, Canada, baseball, informal) A home run that scores one, two, or three runs (a four run home run is usually referred to as a grand slam).

His solo shot in the seventh inning ended up winning the game.

(US federal prison system) Written documentation of a behavior infraction.

Derived terms

* armor-piercing shot * big shot * buckshot * chip shot * cow shot * long shot * parting shot * shot-glass * shotgun * shotlike * shot put * shot spot * split-shot * tracking shot

Expressions

* call the shots * give something one's best shot * shot in the arm

Verb

(head)

(shoot)

Verb

(shott)

To load (a gun) with shot.

(Totten)

(Webster 1913)

Etymology 2

See .

Noun

(en noun)

A charge to be paid, a scot or shout.

Drink up. It's his shot .

* Chapman

Here no shots are where all shares be.

* Shakespeare

A man is never welcome to a place till some certain shot be paid and the hostess say "Welcome".

Etymology 3

Interjection

(en interjection)

(colloquial, South Africa) Thank you.

Statistics

Anagrams

* * * * English irregular past participles English irregular simple past forms ----

poke

English

Etymology 1

Perhaps from (etyl) poken or (etyl) poken (both from (etyl) ), perhaps imitative.

Verb

(pok)

To prod or jab with a pointed object such as a finger or a stick.

* {{quote-news

, year=2010 , date=December 29 , author=Sam Sheringham , title=Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=Ward showed good pace to beat the advancing Reina to the ball and poke a low finish into the corner.}}

To poke a fire to remove ash or promote burning.

(figuratively) To rummage as in to poke about in.

(computing) To modify the value stored in (a memory address).

* 1984 , Franco Frey, SPECGRAFFITI'' (in ''Crash magazine, issue 6, July 1984)

The 200 UDGs may be used either by paging between 10 sets of 20 UDGs or, alternatively, by displaying 96 different characters by poking the system variable CHARS with 256 less than the starting address of your graphics.

* 1985 , Tom Weishaar, Bert Kersey, The DOStalk Scrapbook (page 44)

If you try to poke a value outside this range into a byte, Basic will beep you with an ILLEGAL QUANTITY error.

To put a poke on.

to poke an ox

To thrust with the horns; to gore.

(informal, internet) To notify.

(label) To thrust (something) in a particular direction such as the tongue.

Derived terms

{{der3, poke along , poke bonnet , poke box , poke fun , toepoke}}

Noun

(en noun)

(US, slang) A lazy person; a dawdler.

(US, slang) A stupid or uninteresting person.

(Bartlett)

(US) A device to prevent an animal from leaping or breaking through fences, consisting of a yoke with a pole inserted, pointed forward.

(computing) The storage of a value in a memory address, typically to modify the behaviour of a program or to cheat at a video game.

* 1988 , "Lloyd Mangram", Forum'' (in ''Crash magazine issue 54, July 1988)

Perhaps all those super hackers who so regularly produce infinite lives etc. could produce pokes to be used by 128K users.

Etymology 2

From (etyl) poke, whence pocket

Noun

(en noun)

* c. 1386 , , The Canterbury Tales'', ''The Miller's Prologue and Tale :

Gerveys answerde, “Certes, were it gold,
Or in a poke nobles alle untold,
Thou sholdest have, as I am trewe smyth.

* c. 1599 , , As You Like It , act 2, scene 7:

And then he drew a dial from his poke ,
And, looking on it with lack-lustre eye,
Says very wisely, ‘It is ten o'clock…’

* 1605 , , Remaines Concerning Brittaine'', 1629 edition, ''Proverbes , page 276:

When the Pig is proffered, hold vp the poke .

* 1627 , , Minor Poems of Michael Drayton'', 1907 edition, poem ''Nimphidia :

And suddainly vntyes the Poke ,
Which out of it sent such a smoke,
As ready was them all to choke,
So greeuous was the pother [...].

* 1814 , September 4, The Examiner'', volume 13, number 349, article ''French Fashions , page 573:

… and as to shape , a nightmare has as much. Under the poke and the muff-box, the face sometimes entirely disappears …

* 1946 , Mezz Mezzrow and Bernard Wolfe, Really the Blues , Payback Press 1999, p. 91:

In the summertime they'd reach out and snatch your straw hat right off your head, and if you were fool enough to go after it your poke was bound to be lighter when you came out.

* 2008 , (James Kelman), Kieron Smith, Boy , Penguin 2009, p. 138:

She did not eat blood-oranges. Her maw gived her one in a poke and she was going to throw it in the bin, Oh it is all black.

A long, wide sleeve; a poke sleeve.

(Scotland, Northern Ireland) An ice cream cone.

Derived terms

* buy a pig in a poke * pocket

Etymology 3

Either a shortening of, or from the same source as, (quod vide).

Noun

(en noun)

(dialectal) Pokeweed.

Synonyms

* see the list at (pokeweed)