Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shoot blanks

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.25 in modern English

Syllables
shoot blanks
IPA
20
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
1
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see shoot, blanks.

verb

To be sterile.

Colloquial

Etymology

Likening the ejaculation of semen to bullets from a gun, as in ejaculating but no semen comes out; see blank (“cartridge that simulates gunfire”).

Usage

Inflected Forms

shoots blanks (present, singular) shooting blanks (participle, present) shot blanks (participle, past) shot blanks (past)

Questions

What does shoot blanks mean?
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see shoot, blanks.
Where does shoot blanks come from?
Likening the ejaculation of semen to bullets from a gun, as in ejaculating but no semen comes out; see blank (“cartridge that simulates gunfire”).

How to pronounce shoot blanks

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “shoot blanks”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “shoot blanks”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “shoot blanks” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.