What does shotted mean?
Shotted is an adjective with several related uses, the most literal being that someone has been hit or penetrated by gunfire or another projectile. In informal British English, it can also describe a person who is heavily intoxicated by alcohol or drugs. Cricket provides another specialized sense: a batsman is shotted when the ball strikes their body or another player and prevents the intended stroke from being completed. These meanings share an association with impact or an unsuccessful attempt, although that connection is conventional rather than literal in the intoxication use. Shotted is most often used predicatively, in constructions such as 'was shotted in the leg' and 'was completely shotted.' It is distinct from the irregular past tense and past participle of shoot, which is shot, although the two forms naturally overlap when describing the result of gunfire. The word is useful for recognizing both formal reports of violence and the varied language of sport and informal social conversation.
adjectiveHaving been hit or penetrated by a bullet or other projectile. Informally, heavily intoxicated; in cricket, prevented from completing a shot by the ball striking the batsman's body or another player.
- Hit or penetrated by a bullet, projectile, or other missile.
- Informally, heavily intoxicated by alcohol or drugs.
- In cricket, prevented from completing a shot because the ball struck the batsman's body or another player.
"The policeman was shotted in the shoulder while pursuing the suspect."
"The soldier was shotted in the leg and evacuated to a field hospital."
"By midnight, the party guests were completely shotted."
"The batsman was shotted on the leg before the ball reached the boundary."
One adjective can range from the crime scene to the pub: shotted may describe a person hit by gunfire, a cricket batsman blocked by the ball, or someone informally intoxicated.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does shotted come from?
The adjective is formed from the older word shot with the suffix -ed, expressing the result of having been hit by a projectile. Shot belongs to the word family of shoot, whose Old English form was scēot. The same inherited shooting root also produced forms such as shooter and shooting and the compound shotgun.
Related word forms
How shotted is actually used
The projectile sense is formal or neutral and is often used predicatively, as in 'was shotted.' The intoxication sense is informal and more characteristic of British English. The cricket sense is specialist terminology used chiefly in match commentary and sports reporting.
Easily confused with shotted
Shot is the standard noun for a photograph, projectile, or attempt and the past tense and past participle of shoot; shotted is primarily an adjective describing the result of gunfire, intoxication, or a blocked cricket shot.