shoot first and ask questions later

verb

To take hasty, immediate action with serious consequences, without first adequately investigating the situation.

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Meanings

verbshoot first and ask questions later (third-person singular simple present shoots first and asks questions later, present participle shooting first and asking questions later, simple past and past participle shot first and asked questions later)

present singular third person shoots first and asks questions later · participle present shooting first and asking questions later · participle past shot first and asked questions later · past shot first and asked questions later

  1. USidiomaticTo take hasty, immediate action with serious consequences, without first adequately investigating the situation.
  2. USidiomaticTo act boldly.

    “These companies are shooting first and asking questions later,” Ms. [Robin] Feldman said. “The field is expanding much faster than the legal system can keep up with. Some of the decisions being made along the way end up biting the companies that have made those decisions.”

    2025 December 2, Cade Metz, quoting Robin Feldman, “Silicon Valley Builds Amazon and Gmail Copycats to Train A.I. Agents”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 先斬後奏 /先斩后奏
  • 先斬後奏 /先斩后奏 (xiānzhǎnhòuzòu)To take hasty, immediate action with serious consequences
Dutch eerst schieten, dan vragen stellen
  • eerst schieten, dan vragen stellenTo take hasty, immediate action with serious consequences
German erst schießen, dann fragen
  • erst schießen, dann fragenTo take hasty, immediate action with serious consequences
Polish robić bez namysłu, zrobić bez namysłu
  • robić bez namysłuTo take hasty, immediate action with serious consequences
  • zrobić bez namysłuTo take hasty, immediate action with serious consequences
Spanish disparar primero y preguntar después
  • disparar primero y preguntar despuésTo take hasty, immediate action with serious consequences
Cite this entry
APA

shoot first and ask questions later. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoot%20first%20and%20ask%20questions%20later

MLA

“shoot first and ask questions later.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoot%20first%20and%20ask%20questions%20later. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shoot first and ask questions later,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoot%20first%20and%20ask%20questions%20later.

Source: shoot first and ask questions later on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.