shoot blanks

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see shoot, blanks.

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Meanings

verbshoot blanks (third-person singular simple present shoots blanks, present participle shooting blanks, simple past and past participle shot blanks)

present singular third person shoots blanks · participle present shooting blanks · participle past shot blanks · past shot blanks

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see shoot, blanks.
  2. colloquialTo be sterile.

Origin

Likening the ejaculation of semen to bullets from a gun, as in ejaculating but no semen comes out; see blank (“cartridge that simulates gunfire”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: shoot blanks on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.