shoots first and asks questions later

A form of shoot first and ask questions later — To take hasty, immediate action with serious consequences, without first adequately investigating the situation.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verb
  1. indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of shoot first and ask questions later
Cite this entry
APA

shoots first and asks questions later. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoots%20first%20and%20asks%20questions%20later

MLA

“shoots first and asks questions later.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoots%20first%20and%20asks%20questions%20later. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shoots first and asks questions later,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoots%20first%20and%20asks%20questions%20later.

Source: shoots first and asks questions later on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.