Parthian shot

noun

A military maneuver where archers on horseback turned their bodies back in full gallop to shoot at the pursuing enemy.

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Meanings

nounParthian shot (plural Parthian shots)

plural Parthian shots

  1. historicalgovernmentA military maneuver where archers on horseback turned their bodies back in full gallop to shoot at the pursuing enemy.

Origin

The military tactic was made famous in Rome by the Parthians, an empire on their eastern border.

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Cite this entry
APA

Parthian shot. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Parthian%20shot

MLA

“Parthian shot.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Parthian%20shot. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Parthian shot,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Parthian%20shot.

Source: Parthian shot on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.