marksman

marks·man
M3A1R1K5S1M3A1N1
US/ˈmɑɹksmən/

noun

A man or person skilled at hitting targets, as with a firearm, bow, or thrown object.

UncommonScrabble 16

Meanings

nounmarksman (plural marksmen)

plural marksmen

  1. A man or person skilled at hitting targets, as with a firearm, bow, or thrown object.
    1 more example

    He should do as prudent marksmen do when the place they plan to hit appears too distant, and knowing how far the strength of their rifle carries, they set their aim much higher than the place intended, not to reach such a height with their bullet, but to be able with the aid of so high an aim to achieve their design.

    2006, Nicholas Antongiavanni [pseudonym; Michael Anton], The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men's Style, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 23

    Synonyms: sharpshooter

  2. ball gamesGoalscorer.

    In what was a characteristic Bent display, he made only an occasional impact - but proved once again in front of England coach Fabio Capello that he is one of the most reliable marksmen in the domestic game.

    2011 January 22, Phil McNulty, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Man City”, in BBC

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA man or person skilled at hitting targets, as with a firearm, bow, or thrown object.

Origin

  1. Englishmark
  2. Proto-Indo-European*mon-
  3. Proto-Germanic*mann-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*mann
  5. Old Englishmann
  6. Middle Englishman
  7. Englishman
  8. Englishmarksman

From mark + -s- + man.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian добър стрелец
  • добър стрелец (dobăr strelec)a man skilled in shooting at a target
Chinese Mandarin (男)射手, 神枪手
  • (男)射手a man skilled in shooting at a target
  • 神枪手 (shénqiāngshǒu)a man skilled in shooting at a target
Czech střelec
  • střeleca man skilled in shooting at a target
Danish finskytte
  • finskyttea man skilled in shooting at a target
Dutch scherpschutter
  • scherpschuttera man skilled in shooting at a target
Finnish tarkka-ampuja
  • tarkka-ampujaa man skilled in shooting at a target
French tireur d'élite
  • tireur d'élitea man skilled in shooting at a target
German Scharfschütze, Präzisionsschütze
  • Scharfschützea man skilled in shooting at a target
  • Präzisionsschützea man skilled in shooting at a target
  • geübter Schützea man skilled in shooting at a target
Greek δεινός σκοπευτής, επίλεκτος σκοπευτής
  • δεινός σκοπευτής (deinós skopeftís)a man skilled in shooting at a target
  • επίλεκτος σκοπευτής (epílektos skopeftís)a man skilled in shooting at a target
Hebrew צַלָף
  • צַלָף (tsalaf)a man skilled in shooting at a target
Hungarian mesterlövész
  • mesterlövésza man skilled in shooting at a target
Indonesian penembak jitu
  • penembak jitua man skilled in shooting at a target
Irish aimsitheoir
  • aimsitheoira man skilled in shooting at a target
Italian tiratore scelto, tiratrice scelta
  • tiratore sceltoa man skilled in shooting at a target
  • tiratrice sceltaa man skilled in shooting at a target
Polish strzelec
  • strzeleca man skilled in shooting at a target
Portuguese atirador de precisão
  • atirador de precisãoa man skilled in shooting at a target
Romanian trăgător, trăgaci
  • trăgătora man skilled in shooting at a target
  • trăgacia man skilled in shooting at a target
  • țintașa man skilled in shooting at a target
  • ochitora man skilled in shooting at a target
Russian сна́йпер, ме́ткий стрело́к
  • сна́йпер (snájper)a man skilled in shooting at a target
  • ме́ткий стрело́к (métkij strelók)a man skilled in shooting at a target
Spanish tirador
  • tiradora man skilled in shooting at a target
Swahili mlengaji shabaha
  • mlengaji shabahaa man skilled in shooting at a target
Swedish skarpskytt
  • skarpskytta man skilled in shooting at a target
Turkish nişancı
  • nişancıa man skilled in shooting at a target
Vietnamese xạ thủ, nhà thiện xạ
  • xạ thủa man skilled in shooting at a target
  • nhà thiện xạa man skilled in shooting at a target
Cite this entry
APA

marksman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marksman

MLA

“marksman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marksman. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “marksman,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/marksman.

Source: marksman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.