shoot someone straight

verb

To treat or deal honestly with; be truthful and upfront with.

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Meanings

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

present singular third person shoots someone straight · participle present shooting someone straight · participle past shot someone straight · past shot someone straight

  1. slangtransitiveTo treat or deal honestly with; be truthful and upfront with.

    I left that meeting thinking well, you know, he shot me straight. He told me more or less where my future lies in academia, which is being average, and that is a perfectly noble pursuit.

    2014, Sebastian Gutierrez, Data Scientists at Work, page 115
    1 more example

    “Well,” I sat back smugly, “the first time we met you said you were going to shoot me straight, and you didn't. I have no time for that. If you're going to lie to me as soon as you open your mouth, then I don't want to know you.

    2018, Claire Cramphorn, The Dating Process: Alice

Origin

From shoot straight, meaning to "aim correctly, aim right". Compare also straight-shooter (“one who is honest and forthwith”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

shoot someone straight. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoot%20someone%20straight

MLA

“shoot someone straight.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoot%20someone%20straight. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shoot someone straight,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoot%20someone%20straight.

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