stop a bullet

present singular third person stops a bullet · participle present stopping a bullet · participle past stopped a bullet · past stopped a bullet

1. idiomaticTo be shot; to receive a bullet in one's body.

   Frank G. Slaughter, In a Dark Garden I regret to add that he was but ill repaid for his loyalty — for he stopped a bullet when they fired the house and we were forced to run for our lives.

   2 more examples

   'Stopped a bullet, but Miss Mary, she reckons as how she knows someone what can patch him up.'

   2015, Annie Burrows, A Mistress For Major Bartlett

   He stopped a bullet with the back of his head after it had gone through a stop sign. You could say he's lucky to be alive — the bullet expended most of its energy before it hit him.

   2024, Lane Metcalf, To Set a Prisoner Free