shoots

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of shoot.

   The photographer shoots in natural light whenever she can.

   Water shoots out of the broken pipe with surprising force.

   Note

   The verb works with or without an object. He shoots clay targets, or he shoots a deer. Used alone, he shoots can mean he hunts birds or game with a gun. A piece of land can be the object too: someone who shoots a moor hunts game on it. It shares its spelling with the plural noun, and a singular subject in front of it marks it as the verb.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of shoot.

   Tender bamboo shoots are a common ingredient in many Asian dishes.

   Fresh shoots appeared on the vine just days after the rain.

   Note

   One spelling covers many kinds of shoot: the green tips of new growth, photography sessions, hunts and shooting competitions, rapids in a river. Bamboo shoots and fresh shoots on a vine are the botanical kind; back-to-back photo shoots are the photographer's. The word is spelled exactly like the present-tense verb, so only its place in the sentence tells you whether it names things or an action.

3. 3
   adjectivedialectalHawaii

   A slang expression of agreement meaning alright, okay, or of course.

   Shoots, I'll see you at the cookout tomorrow afternoon.

   Want to carpool to the game? Shoots, sounds good to me.

   Similarokay, sure, cool, alright

   Note

   Hawaiian slang for yes, a relaxed "sure thing" in reply to a plan or a request. In Steen Marcussen's 2000 Carats (2006), a cab driver answers "Shoots!" and a puzzled visitor has to have it translated as "ok." It works best as a one-word reply. It has no comparative, so there is no "more shoots." Outside Hawaii, listeners may not recognize it.

4. 4
   interjectiondialectalHawaii

   A slang way of saying goodbye.

   Shoots, I'll text you when I get home.

   Thanks for everything today. Shoots!

   Similarbye, later, cheers

   Oppositehello

   Note

   The same island word that gives the Hawaiian "okay" also ends a conversation. In David Heaukulani's The Reficul Parallax (2010), a concierge speaking local pidgin closes a phone call with a bare "Shoots." It comes last and stands alone, once the business is settled. Because the two uses sit so close together, a closing "Shoots" can carry "all right" and "bye" in one breath.

Showing meanings only. Show all 4