shoot the bull

verb

To chinwag; to talk idly.

Similar
shoot the breezeshoot the shitthrow the bullthrow the bull around
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

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

present singular third person shoots the bull · participle present shooting the bull · participle past shot the bull · past shot the bull

  1. idiomaticTo chinwag; to talk idly.

    1976-1977, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure I didn't get what this group therapy was all about, it seemed to me it was just a bunch of people shooting the bull.

    1 more example

    Shooting the bull with Benny and Elvira while Nelson skitters around out there in the lake of rooftops, selling used cars like hotcakes.

    1990, John Updike, Rabbit at Rest

    Synonyms: shoot the breeze, shoot the shit, throw the bull, throw the bull around

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo chinwag; to talk idly.

Similar
shoot the breezeshoot the shitthrow the bullthrow the bull around
Also see
chew the fatshoot the breezethrow the bull
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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