English · Idiom Candidate

by a long shot

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

There were assessments of Herr Hitler's chances (poor), Chamberlain's ability (poorer), and the courage of the Italian fighting soldier (poorest, by a long shot).

He had not told Rory everything, not by a long shot.

British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review.

Common questions

What does “by a long shot” mean?

Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.

Is “by a long shot” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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